What If
by some1lostme
Summary: A series of chapters that reflect different periods of time in the GS relationship. GSR. FINISHED.
1. The Harvard Experience

**Disclaimer:** Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings:** G/S, what else is there?

**Rating:** PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary:** This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**A/N:** This first chapter is complete fiction! I made it up… but the chapters to follow are all based around a pre-existing ep of the show. They are in chronological order, and Chapter Two starts off Season 1. Some of the lines used in those chapters are take directly from the show. I know they aren't mine so take a deep breath and read on. I know you'll enjoy this.

**Chapter One- The Harvard Experience**

**Harvard University**

**September 1992**

"Sara, what are we doing here?" Emily asked, "Is this lecture really necessary? I mean, why do you want to sit and listen to some strange old guy talk about bugs and dead bodies for two hours?"

Sara Sidle turned to her room mate and smiled.

"He's forensic entomologist, Em," she explained, leading the other young woman to the first row of seats, "And trust me, he's not that old."

Sara found two seats near the middle of the row, making sure she had a good view of the entire stage. Emily sat beside her, prepping her notebook for their first entomology lecture.

"Oh... my... god."

Sara smiled at Emily's gasp.

Dr. Gil Grissom had just taken his place on stage and, in doing so, stole the heart of every female student in his audience. Sara looked up and grinned. His picture in her favorite forensics magazine did him no justice. She took care to note his sharp blue eyes and chiseled jaw line, sighing happily at the slight dimple in his chin. His hair was the same shade as her, a chocolate brown, although his was flecked with gray. She noticed his nicely tanned skin which she assumed was from all the years he'd worked in Las Angeles and Las Vegas.

As Dr. Grissom began to speak, Sara fell into a trance. She watched his hands, memorizing how he used them to emphasize his words. She felt an unusual weight settle in the pit of her stomach as she watched the muscles of his broad shoulders and chest move beneath his thin, blue dress shirt. Sara licked her suddenly dry lips. God, she thought, he's beautiful.

"Sara."

The harsh, hurried tone of Emily's voice caught her off guard and Sara turned toward her.

"What?" she asked.

Emily glanced once at the stage and then returned her stare to the page of her notebook. Sara followed Emily's glance onto the stage, freezing momentarily when she noticed that Dr. Grissom had stopped speaking and was now staring right at her. She felt herself blush and she stammered slightly as she said, "I, um, I'm sorry. Did you ask me something, doctor?"

"I did, actually. Miss...?"

"Sidle. Sara Sidle."

"All right then Miss Sidle. I asked you what you are majoring in here at Harvard."

"Oh, um, physics with a minor in forensic science," she told him, "And I'll be studying both next Fall at Grad school."

"Good for you, Miss Sidle, we can always use more physicists is the small world of forensics," Dr. Grissom smiled and Sara's heart fluttered slightly in her chest.

"My next question for you, Sara, is how did you become interested in the field of physics and why did you choose forensics as your minor?"

"I guess that I chose physics because I have always been good at it. Physics is something that has helped me gain a certain perspective on the real world," she explained, "But I chose forensics because..."

"Be honest, Sara, if you can't be honest with me, you'll never make it through this course."

Sara smiled a little more broadly and continued on, "I became interested in forensics probably six years ago when my high school genetics class attended a forensic science conference at UC Berkley. Um, I actually got to hear you speak with some of your colleagues from Las Vegas. It was then, sitting in that hall listening to you and another criminalist speaking of the passion that you have for your work that I decided that I wanted to become involved in crime scene investigation. So, I guess that, if I had to tell someone what made me want to become involved in forensics, I would have to tell them that it was you."

When she finished her answer, Dr. Grissom's blue eyes were burning a whole into her. No one in the room spoke and Sara felt a sudden spark of heat pass between herself and the good doctor. She attempted to pull back slightly but it seemed impossible. He had a hold on her.

Emily's elbow into Sara's side broke the eye contact she'd had with Dr. Grissom and Sara turned to look at her room mate. Her jaw had gone slack at hearing Sara's confession.

"Well, Miss Sidle, thank you for being honest," Grissom said, his voice a little shaky at first, "I'm pleased to know that I have influenced at least one of you right off the bat. I hope to have a few more students interested in forensic entomology, or at least the art of forensics."

The lecture ended at the exact time that Sara had predicted it would. Doctor Grissom exited the stage quickly, telling them that he would be in his temporary office if anyone had any questions.

As the rest of the audience began to move toward the exits, Sara headed for the stage.

"Sara, where are you going?" Emily asked, noticing that Sara was moving in the opposite

direction. She started after her.

"I have questions for him," Sara said simply, as if this were a logical excuse to be acting like a stalker. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Why doesn't that surprise me, the girl with a thousand questions has a question for the gorgeous doctor. Sara, come on, you can ask him next class," Emily called after her, "We're going to be late for dance."

"Go on without me then," Sara told her, without turning around, "I really want to talk to Dr. Grissom in private."

"You would," Emily muttered under her breath.

"I heard that," Sara called, glancing over her shoulder to wink at Emily.

By the time Emily caught up to her, Sara was already standing outside the doctor's office door.

Her hand perched and ready to knock.

"I don't think I want to be here for this," Emily teased.

"Oh, please, you know I'm a virgin, I would never-" Sara froze when the door swung open in front of her, "Oh hell."

"Am I interrupting a personal conversation, Miss Sidle, because from what I overheard through the door there-"

"Oh hell."

"Right, well, I'm headed to dance now Sara so ask your questions and I'll see you later," with that, Emily turned and left Sara standing there alone and terribly embarrassed.

Dr. Grissom smiled at her, "You have questions for me?"

Sara nodded, not sure that she trusted her voice, and he held the door open to her.

"Please, come in."

"So, you have a few questions for me?"

They had been sitting in his office for nearly twenty minutes now and Sara had yet to speak.

They'd been staring at each other, caught up in the intensity of the other's gaze. When he finally broke the silence between them, Sara smiled at him and Dr. Grissom went a little weak in the knees. Her smile was one he hoped to see many times before he left Boston.

"I guess the first question I'd like to ask you is, why entomology? I mean, I know that most little boys have a fascination with bugs, but, I don't know very many grown men who like to play with them," Sara said, the question light and somewhat teasing, giving him that smile again when she was through.

Grissom returned her smile, taking a seat at his very untidy desk.

"Well, Sara, I guess I am one of those men who took their childhood passion and made it into my career. Little boys who play with Legos and Lincoln Logs grow up to be architects. Little boys who play with Hot Wheels grow up to be mechanics and NASCAR drivers. I played with bugs and became an entomologist. You knew early on that you were good at math and science, right? That fueled your path to becoming a great physicist."

Sara blushed a little at his use of 'great' in his description. Neither of them spoke for a minute and Sara looked down at her hands. She twisted the ring on her thumb in circles, keeping her eyes focused on something.

"So, Dr. Grissom, what does your wife think of your bug fetish?"

Grissom laughed at her question, shaking his head slightly.

"Please, Sara, just 'Grissom', or Gil if you'd like. And, first of all, I'm not married, never have been. Second, to call it a 'fetish' would imply that there was a sexual undertone to my work. Which, I will strongly add, there isn't."

Sara smiled, "Sorry, bad choice of wording. Forgive me."

Grissom seemed to think about that for a moment before returning her smile, "I'll forgive you, Sara, on one condition."

"And that would be?"

"Well, I need an assistant on a case that I'm consulting on for the Boston PD. Someone to take notes and photographs, someone I know will be interested in learning how a real investigator works while at a scene. I could pay you."

"Pay me? Are you kidding? I'd do it for free! I mean, what an amazing chance to learn this stuff before I even get a job in the real world," Sara was overwhelmed with excitement at his offer, "Of course I'll help, I'd love to."

"Great, you start tonight. Meet me back here at ten p.m. and I'll drive you over to the scene."

Sara started to rise from her chair, her smile so bright it went all the way to her eyes.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Grissom, I-"

"Just Grissom, Sara. And, you're welcome."

When Sara knocked on Grissom's office door, she was shaking with excitement. Not only was she getting the opportunity to work at a real crime scene, but she was getting an opportunity to spend an entire night with the most gorgeous, most honest man she'd ever met.

It took a moment for Grissom to open the office door for her and even then it was only enough for her to catch a glimpse of him before he disappeared.

"Come on in, Sara," he called from somewhere in the back of the room, "I'll be just one minute."

In his absence, Sara took the time to look around.

She studied a display case hanging on the wall behind his desk. Tiny butterflies, the smallest she'd ever seen, were pinned to a Styrofoam display board inside the case, creating a rainbow of color against the white background. She smiled to herself, feeling extremely giddy at the moment, and turned around. She moved away from his desk and took a seat on the couch that sat along the opposite wall.

Less than five minutes later, Grissom emerged from a small room in the back corner of his office that Sara assumed was a bathroom. He was buttoning the last two buttons on his dark green dress shirt and Sara paid close attention the muscle definition created by the tight sleeves. She licked her lips out of sheer habit and felt herself blush when she realized that he'd seen her.

"So, are you ready to be put to work?" he asked, not bringing up Sara's indiscretion.

She nodded and stood, taking the clipboard he handed her and following him from the room.

They arrived at the crime scene nearly twenty minutes after they'd left campus and Sara looked around. They were in an upscale housing development, one that Sara had never noticed before tonight.

Grissom drove toward the end of the lot and, for the first time, Sara noticed the yellow tape. He parked his rental car beside a BPD cruiser but stopped Sara from exiting the car.

"Here," he said, handing her a laminated name tag, "You'll need this to move around back there. This is a high profile case and we have to be very discrete. If you hadn't noticed on the way in, that house, right over there-" he turned and pointed to a large colonial behind her "is the mayor's house, Sara. This is his neighborhood and it's also the scene of our homicide investigation."

"Homicide?" Sara asked, realizing that he hadn't actually given her the details of the case that they were working on.

"Yes. A young woman, identified as Marie St. Clare was found by the men doing construction on this lot last week. Her remains were covered in a particular species of blow fly, which is why I was asked to consult, but we also discovered that the particular species feeding off of Marie's flesh are not found in the region of the US, they are usually found in the Midwest, Las Vegas in particular."

"Are you telling me that someone transported this girl's body all the way from Las Vegas?" Sara asked, a little overwhelmed by the brutality of the situation.

"At this point in my investigation, that's what I'm leaning toward."

"Does she have any family?" Sara asked, her tone dropping slightly.

"We found her in our database because her parents reported her missing eight months ago," Grissom told her, "She was originally from Tuscan, Arizona."

"Oh," was all that Sara could manage to say. Grissom examined her reaction for a moment before taking her hand in his.

"Sara, if this is going to be too difficult for you, I can-"

"No, no, I'll be fine," she said, covering her urge to cry with a smile, "Let's just get this over with."

That morning during the autopsy, Sara became ill.

"Hey, hey, come on, Sara," Grissom was quiet and calm as he half-carried her from the room.

Once in the hall way, he helped her sit down, leaning her back against the wall. He knelt down in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she muttered through the beginning of tears.

"Don't worry about it," he said softly, wiping absently at her eyes, "It's a completely natural reaction. Is this first time you've ever seen a body, honey?"

She didn't really notice his endearment as she was lost in her own thoughts. She shook her head at the question, but didn't look up into his eyes.

"Sara? Tell me what your thinking and maybe I can help you," he said, "I want to help you, Sara."

Now she looked up at him.

"You can't ..."

Two Days Later

Sara sat cross-legged on her bed, her Biology notes spread out in front of her. Her coffee sat on the night stand beside the bed, a bottle of water was propped against the wall, and a box of Kleenex was in her lap.

"You okay, Sara?"

Emily stuck her head into the room and peered the door at her room mate.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Sara muttered, "Just doing some work for Dr. Grissom. You going out tonight?"

"Yeah, Rach asked if I wanted to go to Patrick's party with her," Emily told her, coming in and sitting down next to her, "Why don't you come with us?"

Sara shook her head and pointed to the notes she had spread out across her bed, "Can't. I'm supposed to meet Dr. Grissom in the morning with a synopsis of what I think happened at the crime scene we're working on. He's been e-mailing me DNA reports and stuff, trying to help me, so I have to come up with a plausible scenario for our homicide."

Emily just sighed loudly and rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I think you're taking this whole 'note taking thing' a little too seriously, Sar."

"Emily, this is what I want to do for a living and if kissing Gil Grissom's ass for a few days will get me a great letter of recommendation, I'll do it."

"Oh yeah, cause you wouldn't kiss his ass if he didn't give you a recommendation?"

Emily just barely missed being slugged in the arm by Sara as she stood up to leave the room.

"All right, well I'm going so leave me a note if your not going to be home tonight," Emily told her, heading out of Sara's bedroom.

"I will, have fun."

Sara pulled her car into the empty spot next to Grissom's in front of the diner. She put the car in park, turned off her headlights and glanced in the mirror. She looked okay, a little sleep deprived, but she looked good. Her hair was cooperating and she wasn't wearing too much make-up. God, Sara thought, I need to get laid.

She walked into the diner, spotting Grissom sitting in a booth in the back. She waved at him when he glanced up at her, smiling. She moved with deliberate grace toward the table, her hips swaying a little more than they would have if she hadn't been trying to make them.

Grissom swallowed hard, locking his eyes on her as she moved toward him. Her jeans were tight on her hips, making her legs look incredibly long, and the sleeveless sweater she wore didn't quite reach the top of her jeans, giving him a glimpse of ivory skin. He felt himself getting hard.

Damn it, Gil. What the hell's wrong with you, she's a student!

He shook his head briefly and took a large gulp of his coffee. Sara slid into the booth across from him, smiling brightly.

"Hey, Grissom."

"Hi Sara, how'd your research go?"

"Pretty good, I guess. I think I know what happened," her voice caught in her throat and Grissom raised an eyebrow at her.

"You okay?" he asked, sliding his coffee toward her, "I was worried about you the other night."

"Oh, that, I just, don't have as strong a stomach as I thought I did. I felt like such an idiot," her last sentence was slightly muted but Grissom heard it any way.

"Sara, you shouldn't feel like an idiot, I'm telling you, you didn't do anything out of the ordinary," he reassured her, " A lot of people throw up during their first autopsy...I did."

Sara looked up at him and smiled, "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Grissom smiled at her and laughed, "Okay, so maybe I didn't exactly throw up, but I thought I would."

Sara laughed while she slid the coffee cup around on the table. Her eyes focused down into the steaming brown liquid and her smile began to fade.

"Sara, do you want to tell me what really happened?" Grissom asked, noticing her change in mood.

"I told you, I just-"

"That isn't what I mean, Sara. I'm a trained investigator, this is what I do for a living, I read people and right now, you're very uncomfortable," he told her, "Is it me? Did I do something to upset you? Is it the case?"

Sara was shaking her head, "Honestly? I don't want to talk about it, it happened too long ago and it's not important."

The first thing that Grissom noticed when he tried to gage her response was the change in her posture. She slumped forward slightly, putting her elbows on the table and leaning into her hands. The tears forming in her eyes were his next clue. Whatever she was thinking about, it held some sort of importance.

"Talk to me, tell me what happened, maybe it will make you feel better to just get it out."

For a long moment, Sara just sat there. Not able to lift her head from her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried quietly. Grissom didn't touch her, he didn't push her, he simply let her cry and get the pain out, hoping it would make talking easier for her.

When she settled, he noticed the shaking in her shoulders had ceased and she looked up at him with red rimmed eyes.

"I've never really told anyone this story, Grissom," she began, "I mean, my parents of course, but no one else."

"I understand, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said, silently hoping that she would tell him and let him help her get past it.

Sara took a ragged and began softly, "When I was younger, in middle school, I had a friend, a close friend, Angela. We did pretty much everything together, we grew up together, had known each other our whole lives. But, when we were fourteen, in the middle of eighth grade, Angela started coming to school with bruises on her face. Obviously there was something wrong and I was fourteen so I didn't really know what to do about it. But, like most child abuse cases, Angela made me swear that I wouldn't say a

word to anyone about what she told me... I remember, the first time she came to school with the bruises on her face and she cried to me in the bathroom for more than an hour."

"What happened to her?"

Sara swiped at the tear that was running down her cheek, "Um, her stepfather, he was beating her. And on her birthday that year... I spent the night at her house and her dad, he raped me. When Angela tried to stop him...he- he killed her."

She broke. Her last words came out on a sob and Grissom slid out of his side of the booth to move in beside her. His arms went around her and she cried harder clinging to him.

"Shh, it's all right, Sara, shh," he instinctively brushed her hair with his fingers, holding her face to his shoulder, letting her cry to him.

Her sobs receded and Grissom forced her to look at him.

"You know that what happened to you and what happened to Angela, it wasn't your fault. You know that don't you?"

Sara nodded slowly, "It took me eight years of therapy to figure that out but, yeah, I know that it wasn't my fault. I also know that it wasn't Angela's fault. Her father was a sick bastard and that's all there is to it... he was sentenced to life without parole but he committed suicide in the first year he was in prison."

Grissom pulled Sara back against him and held her there. She wasn't crying anymore but he could feel her body trembling with each ragged breath she took.

Sara was becoming nervous with each stroke of his big hands down her spine. He was only trying to comfort her, she knew, but the feel of his hands on her...

"Grissom?" she sighed heavily.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

At his endearment, Sara looked up at him.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

She quickly covered his mouth with her fingers, "Its okay. Caught up in the moment, I completely understand..."

Their eyes locked and Grissom couldn't seem to tear himself away.

"Let me take you home, Sara."

Sara smiled a little, "Your place or mine?"

At the shocked look on Grissom's face, she laughed.

"Kidding, it was a joke," Sara said softly, pulling completely out of Grissom's embrace, "And I'm fine now, I can drive myself home. Thank you for listening, Dr. Grissom."

"Sara, are you sure-"

She was already standing up and grabbing her purse, "I'll be fine. Really. Thanks again."

He didn't know what to say as he watched her retreating back. She was almost to the door when he slid out of the booth and went after her.

"Sara?"

She turned back to him.

"Tomorrow, it's my last day in Boston, I just got called back to Vegas on a case," he told her quickly, "I just wanted to let you know I'd be going and I wanted to thank you, for helping me with my case."

"Oh, well, you're welcome, although I wouldn't say that I helped much, I just kind of got in the way..."

Grissom was shaking his head and taking a step toward her. Sara didn't back away.

"You helped, trust me-" he leaned in a little more, "-Can I call you, Sara? Will you keep in touch?"

Sara took a deep breath, suddenly realizing that she was suffering from a lack of oxygen. She nodded in response to his question and reached out for his hand. He gave it to her, palm down and she took a pen from her pocket.

"This is my phone number at the apartment, and this is my email address-" she wrote them both on his hand, "- Call me whenever."

When she dropped his hand, Grissom grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against him, kissing her hard on the mouth.

Feeling the need for air again, Sara pulled away, staring at Grissom in shock.

"I want to see you again someday, Sara."

And then he let her go. He turned, without another word and went back into the diner.


	2. Vegas, Baby

**Disclaimer:** Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings:** G/S, what else is there?

**Rating:** PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary:** This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**Chapter Two- Vegas Baby**

**Las Vegas, Nevada **

**August 2000**

"Norman pushed-"

Grissom snapped a picture.

"Norman jumped-"

Another picture.

"Norman fell-"

"Wouldn't you if you were married to Mrs. Roper?"

Grissom smiled to himself, "I don't even have to turn around. Sara Sidle."

Sara smiled at him as he turned to face her, "That's me. Still tossing simulation dummies? There are other ways to tell, you know."

"How? Computer simulations? I'm a scientist, I like to see it."

"You're old fashioned."

Grissom shrugged and the feeling that passed through Sara was one of impatient excitement. It had been three months since their last rendezvous in Frisco. She felt a sudden heat rush through her body and she shook it off. She stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself into him.

"How's the girl?" she whispered, burying her face into his neck, feeling his hands on her back.

"Not good."

Sara picked up on the tone of his voice and she pulled back a little, looking into his eyes. Her hand went to the curls at the back of his neck and in that moment she ached to kiss him.

"I'm sorry."

For a moment neither of them moved, keeping their eyes and bodies locked. Grissom moved his head slightly and Sara took that as her cue to move in. She dropped her mouth on his and reveled in the feel and the taste of him. He kissed her back. With no hesitation, Grissom clung to her, needing to be a part of her again.

"Uh, hey Grissom?"

Nick's voice startled them both and they stepped back. Sara noticed the flush on Grissom's face and she had to turn away to keep from laughing.

Nick Stokes stared at his boss, completely lost for words. Gil Grissom was standing at a crime scene, making out with a beautiful woman, blushing like a horny teenager. He coughed to cover his urge to laugh, causing Grissom to scowl at him.

"Sara, this is Nick Stokes," Grissom said tersely, "Nick, Sara Sidle."

Nick and Sara shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Sara," Nick said, then turning to Grissom he said, "Just a friend, huh, Griss?"

At that, Grissom earned a nice slap in the arm from Sara and a playful glare from Nick. It only took him a quick minute to realize that Sara had turned and was stalking off in the other direction.

"You'll pay for that, Nicky," Grissom called, going after Sara, "You'll be working every decomp for the next six months."

Grissom caught up to Sara just as she reached her car, stopping her before she could get away from him. He took her by the arm and turned her to him.

"'Just a friend' Grissom?" she snapped, pulling back, "God, why do you always do this to me? Drag me out here under false pretenses?"

"What 'false pretenses'? Damn it Sara! I'm sorry that I don't feel the need to announce every detail of my personal life to my team," Grissom snapped at her, "But I didn't lie to you when I asked you to come here, I needed your help, Sara."

Sara stopped her movements and gave Grissom a quick kiss.

"I'm gonna head to the lab, get going on my case," Sara got into the car, "Find me later."

"All right, I love you Sara."

She didn't say it back. She turned over the engine and Gil turned to go back to where Nick was waiting. After a moment, a car horn caught his attention and he turned toward Sara's car.

She signed 'I love you too' in ASL and drove away.

Grissom smiled to himself and went back to his experiment.

* * *

Sara's day began with disappointment and, at the announcement of Holly Gribbs death, it only got worse. She left Warrick Brown alone at the diner, needing a moment of privacy for herself. She locked herself in her car, her hands shaking as she placed them on the steering wheel, anger boiling in her and directed at the CSI she'd just left. 

"Damn it Brown," she muttered, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Her cell phone rang, startling her slightly, and Sara had to dig around in her purse to find it.

"Sidle."

"Sara, honey, it's me," Grissom's voice soothed her immediately, "Holly Gribbs was pronounced dead a few minutes ago."

Sara sighed heavily, "Yeah, I know. The OR paged me. I'm sorry, Gil."

She heard him shrug and neither of them spoke for a moment. Sara could sense his hesitation and thought it would be best to change the subject.

"Gil, if I'm going to be staying with you, I might need directions," she told him lightly, "I'd like to go by the house and drop off my bags. Not to mention a hot shower and some coffee would be nice."

She could feel Grissom's mood change the second he started talking to her again, "I forgot about your bags. I can give you directions from the lab. Where are you?"

"The diner down the street," Sara told him, glancing up at the neon sign that read 'Mike's All-Night Eatery', "I can be at the lab in about five minutes."

"Good, I'll meet you in the parking garage, third floor is the lab," he told her, "I've got to give you a key."

Sara's body tingled at the thought. Living with Grissom was, until now, just a fantasy she'd been harboring for years. Now he was asking her to stay, asking her to wake up in bed with him every evening before work, asking her to share his shower, his personal space. She got to Gil Grissom like no other woman could and it made her smile.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"I'll be waiting."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Sara. Drive fast."

They disconnected and Sara started the car.

* * *

Sara pulled her car into the third floor parking deck of the crime lab approximately three minutes and thirty one seconds after she'd disconnected her call with Grissom. As she pulled in, she noticed Gil leaning against the back of his truck. She smiled when she saw him there, hands in his pocket, eyes on some incriminating evidence on the pavement. 

Sara pulled her car into the empty space beside Grissom's and parked. She waited for him to come around before she opened the door to get out.

"Hi."

She barely managed to get the word out before his mouth came crashing down on hers. She was pinned to the side of her car, Gil's big hands covering her smaller ones on either side of her face. She felt no reason to fight him off, she wanted him to have her, she wanted to taste him. They'd been apart for so long enough and Sara was just as sexually frustrated as he was. Her tension was beginning to uncoil and it was sending hot, wet heat straight to the pit of Sara's stomach and she started to push him away.

"Whoa, slow down there, sweetheart," Sara muttered out of breath, "I don't plan on having sex in the backseat of one of our vehicles."

Gil laid his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

"God, I've missed you," he breathed.

Sara smiled, reaching up and massaging the back of his neck, "I missed you, too."

He pressed a gentle kiss into her forehead before stepping back and leaning against his truck.

"Did you leave the rest of your things in San Francisco?" he asked.

"Like my furniture and stuff?"

"Yeah, your bed, your dresser, couches, a table and chairs, everything necessary to make a house a home," Grissom asked, smiling at her.

Sara shrugged, "I figured, why put myself through the trouble of dragging all of that stuff all the way out here when I didn't know if I would be staying?"

She risked a glance at Grissom and he wasn't smiling.

"Sara..."

"Hey, its okay, I know now. I know this is permanent for us. I guess I was just- I was scared."

"Of what?"

"This," she said, gesturing between them, "I guess I just didn't know how it would play out. I wasn't sure if I could trust myself not to screw this up."

"Oh."

His head dropped again and Sara stared at him.

"Hey, I'm past that feeling now," she said lightly, "I'm here, Gil. I've been reminded of why I came and I couldn't make myself leave even if I wanted to. Which, by the way, I don't. I'm here for you. I love you. And I won't leave unless you want me to."

Gil nodded, not sure what to say, his pulse racing.

"Okay, now that we side-stepped that obstacle," Sara said quickly, trying to remove the awkwardness she felt, "Can I have your keys so I can go home? I need a nap and a shower."

Her use of the word 'home' in reference to his townhouse sent a spark of hope through Grissom. She meant it, he knew, that she was here in Las Vegas, that she was here for him. He pulled a key ring from his pocket and pressed it into Sara's hand. She fingered the enamel butterfly key chain for a moment before smiling up at him.

"Mine to keep?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded, blushing slightly. Sara didn't push him. Instead, she leaned into her car and emerged with a pen and a piece of paper. She handed it to Gil, smiling at his confusion.

"Map, honey, I need directions."

"Well, I could use a shower myself so..."

Sara shot him a playful look, "Shower my ass, Gil Grissom, I know what you want."

He smiled at her and Sara could feel the heat in his gaze. She looked away quickly but Gil caught her around the waist and pulled her into him.

"I've really missed you, Sara Jane Sidle."

"Trust me, the feelings mutual."

Grissom's mouth covered hers and Sara opened herself to him. His hands were in her hair and hers were on his chest. They both seemed to be trying to crawl into each other. Sara could feel all of the emotion and tension she'd kept bottled up for the last three months starting to resurface. Gil obviously felt it, too, because he pushed her away, breathing heavily.

"Get in the car, Sara."

Sara glared at him, becoming frustrated at the tone of his voice.

"You were the one who said you weren't willing to have sex in the backseat of the car," he explained at her look, "So the quicker you get in and drive, the quicker we can get home and get out of these clothes."

Sara smiled at him then, kissing him hard on the lips, "I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you."

Gil smiled back, gently shoving her behind the wheel of her car.

"I'll see you there."


	3. It's Why I Stayed

**Disclaimer:** Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings:** G/S, what else is there?

**Rating:** PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary:** This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**Chapter Three- It's Why I Stayed**

**Las Vegas, Nevada**

**October 2001**

_"I worked in a slaughterhouse one summer. Looked a lot like this."_

_Grissom stood in the middle of the room, squatting down to swab the carpet for blood._

_"The lease is in the name of Clifford Renteria. He lived here with his girlfriend till they snuck out in the middle of the night. Gee, I wonder why," Brass said with his usual sarcasm._

_"For all we know, this is animal blood," Grissom replied without looking away from the crime scene._

_"Yeah, sure. Deer, sheep, llama."_

_Grissom shrugged, "A deer hunter comes home from the mountains drunk decides to play butcher clean his kill. Chops his game up into oven-sized pieces for the winter. I mean, what does he care? He's renting."_

_Grissom pulled a clear plastic eye drop bottle from his field kit and tested the swab for human DNA. The swab turned purple and Grissom capped it, putting it in his kit along with the bottle._

_"Victim's human," Brass said quietly._

_"And a human has only eight pints of blood. So, whoever the victim is ... is now dead."_

When Sara arrived at the crime scene with Warrick in tow, her eyes immediately searched the area for Gil's truck. It was parked in the lot nearest to the apartment they'd be working in and she smiled to herself, feeling suddenly flushed at the thought of working with him. Not that they didn't see enough of each other at home, it just seemed to Sara that, seeing him work, made things better between them. She scrambled to get out of the car, yanking the back door open and grabbing her field kit quickly.

"Whoa, girl," Warrick chuckled, taking his kit from the other side of the car, "The man's working a crime scene, he's not going anywhere."

Sara blushed, slowing herself down a little. She waited for Warrick to come around to her side of the truck before she headed off toward the apartment building. Warrick lifted the yellow tape for her as she flashed her badge to the officer waiting there and ducked under.

"Hey," Sara said, taking in the immense amount of blood she was seeing splattered on the walls in the small space.

Gil turned away from his task of measuring the blood droplets to smile meaningfully at her.

"Hey yourself," he said sweetly, "How was your vacation?"

Sara smiled and shrugged, "Boring I guess, I'm not a huge fan of weddings but Lauren was my best friend in Frisco, I felt obligated."

Grissom nodded, turning back to his work.

"Anything uniform about the spray?" Sara asked, knowing full well that they could have a more in-depth conversation about her trip when they were in the quite of their own home.

Grissom frowned, pulling back a little from the wall, "Average diameter is one millimeter."

"High velocity impact. Shot gun, maybe. But there are no bullet holes in the walls, ruling out murder with a firearm."

Grissom shook his head but smiled at her spontaneity, "Just acquaint yourself, Sara. Don't interpret just yet, okay?"

Warrick smirked slightly at the exchange, hiding it from Sara as he crouched down to spray the floor with luminal. Grissom and Sara watched him in silence, both of them slowly surveying the entire scene before them. When he was finished covering the floor, Warrick put the bottle into a loop on his belt and stood beside Sara.

"Show time."

Grissom moved away from the two to close the blinds and as the room filled with darkness, the luminal began to glow. The entire floor was covered in the glowing chemical.

"Damn, this looks like a multiple, Griss."

"What are the voids?" Warrick asked, taking a quick look around.

Grissom pointed to the large rectangular one, "Couch?"

Sara shrugged, taking a picture of one void after another.

"We've only got 30 seconds 'til this luminal disappears."

Grissom knelt down to get a better look at a smaller 'void'.

"Television?" he asked, pointing to one void, and to the other he said, "Magazine maybe."

Sara snapped another quick picture, "This one looks like a triangle... coat rack?"

"Hey guys?"

Warrick's tone of voice caused them both to turn to where he stood in the darkened room. Sara's vision shifted to the odd shaped void at his feet.

"What do you think that is?" Grissom asked, moving to stand beside the younger CSI.

Warrick shrugged, "Looks like an electric saw."

"High velocity, small spray," Grissom and Sara said together.

* * *

Hours later, after discovering that Cliff Renteria's girlfriend, Alison Scott, was still missing, Grissom and Sara stood in the living room of the suspect's former apartment. The lights they had set up reminded Sara oddly of a sound stage and she watched as Grissom pulled the covering off of a vent above his head. As he placed the cover on a nearby chair, Sara moved in a little closer to look over his shoulder and examine the vent.

"Fly egg casings," she said quietly, her breath against the side of his face. Grissom turned to smile up at her, silently remembering their earlier romp in the bedroom, wishing they were back there now. Stu Evans, the complex manager appeared in the door and Sara backed off slightly.

"I thought I heard someone banging around in here," Evans said, "You find that bastard Renteria?"

Sara scowled at him, "You'll have to take that up with Captain Brass, sir."

She leaned forward, handing the guy a business card. When she turned back to Grissom, he was reaching for something with a pair of tweezers. She moved back into him.

"What do you got?"

Grissom held his capture up for her to see, "Either Paul or John."

"A very important beetle," Sara said with a smirk.

"The most important. The Syphilis Beetle typically feeds on decomposing human flesh."

Sara looked around, "There's a dead body in here."

"Mr. Evans?" Grissom asked, looking up at the manager in the doorway, "Do you think you can get permission from the owner to break into these walls?"

Mr. Evans raised an eyebrow at Grissom's question, "I guess, but, how many walls and what for?"

"Unfortunately Mr. Evans, I can't divulge that information with you... but we made to break up all of the walls."

"In every room?" Evans asked.

Grissom nodded, "Yeah."

"You CSIs going to pay for the replastering?"

Grissom tossed a sidelong glance at Sara, "No, Mr. Evans, we don't do that."

"But you can submit a form to the city for reimbursement," Sara finished.

"No way," Evans said, shaking his head, "I don't even have to ask the owner, there ain't no way he's gonna let you bust down these walls."

Stu Evans turned and exited the apartment.

"What now?" Sara asked.

Grissom handed her the container with their lone beetle, "Take Paul here to the DNA lab. He may be the only chance we've got to get in these walls."

* * *

Warrick stood beside Sara in the lab, both of them leaning over the beetle Grissom had collected at their scene.

"So we know that this guy only feeds off of human blood so what's with the stomach contents?" Warrick asked, watching Sara remove the lid from the jar. He picked up the beetle and held it to the table while Sara took a small needle and extracted a sample from the bug.

"Not necessarily, according to Grissom -- my Bug Man -- sephilid beetles, will feed on any decomposing mammal. We need the human DNA to get our warrant to bust down those walls."

Warrick shook his head, "Well, I hope this guy got to chow down before you and Grissom snatched him up."

"Heading home?" Warrick asked as Sara sat down in front of her locker, starting to unlace her boots.

Sara shrugged, smiling up at him, "Soon, I guess. I think I'm just gonna hang out in Gil's office for a while, wait for him to finish his paperwork before heading home."

"Sounds like a plan," Warrick said, closing his own locker and leaning down to kiss Sara on the top of the head, "Have a good day, kid. I'll see you tonight?"

"Not tonight, its my -"

Sara was cut short as the locker room door swung open and Grissom stepped in, a warrant in hand.

"That our warrant?" Sara asked, passing a glance at Warrick.

Grissom nodded, "Paul was full of human DNA. Brass got us a judge."

Warrick nodded, turning and grabbing a large hammer, "Let's go knock down some walls."

Warrick headed out first and as Sara stepped up beside Grissom, he placed his hand on the small of her back. Sara gave him a quick peck on the cheek and whispered, "Well, this new development certainly ruined my morning plans."

"No, honey, it just postponed them."

* * *

Warrick swung again for what seemed like the umpteenth time, letting out a heavy sigh when his handy work only revealed more insulation.

"One wall down... fifteen more to go."

Beside him, Sara shook her head, lifted her hammer and prepared for another swing.

"I'd hold off on that for a minute Sara," Brass' voice said from behind her. She lowered her hammed, "Sorry to interrupt your fun, but I'd like to introduce you to Cliff Renteria's girlfriend."

"You're Alison Scott?" Sara asked, somewhat bewildered.

The young blind nodded and Sara felt Grissom tense uneasily at her side.

"Look, Cliff has this way of ... showing off, it's part of the reason I left him," Alison explained, "But I've known the guy forever and trust me, he may be an asshole, but he's not a murderer."

Sara tossed a glance and the other men in the room before speaking again, "Miss Scott, we found some blood on one of Cliff's lamps."

"I stubbed my toe on that damn lamp almost everyday," Alison explained.

"You by chance wouldn't be willing to give me a blood sample would you?" Grissom asked, "Just so I can compare?"

"Sure, whatever you think'll help."

"Thank you," Grissom said, turning to the man beside him, "Warrick, would you?"

"On it," Warrick replied, taking Miss Scott by the elbow and leading her from the house, followed closely by Brass. Sara and Grissom were left alone.

"So," Sara asked, "What now?"

She and Grissom stood side by side in front of the damaged wall. Grissom didn't respond and Sara quickly allowed herself to follow his gaze. It didn't take long for her to figure out just what Gil was seeing. They both turned and exited the apartment.

* * *

A few moments later, Grissom and Sara stood outside Stu Evans apartment. Sara knocked once only to have the door pulled out from under her knuckles and Evans appeared. He gaze flickered between the two CSIs.

"What do you want?" Evans snapped.

Sara looked at Grissom as he said, "We need to look at your wall."

Evans stepped back and Grissom lead Sara into the house, keeping her close to him. He didn't like the way Evans had been eyeing her.

As they entered the small kitchen Sara was the first to speak.

"Do you smell that, Grissom?"

Grissom took another strong whiff of the air, "Scented candles, huh?"

"Some food went bad in the fridge," Evans shrugged, "I wanted to cover the smell."

Sara's eyes locked onto the wall to her left, noticing the different texture on a large portion of the wall.

"Have you replastered this lately?" she asked, running her gloved fingers over the rough surface.

"Rain damage," Evans said with another shrug. He seems to have an answer for everything, Sara though. She took that moment to look at Grissom and it seemed that his train of thought was headed in the same direction.

Grissom moved a little closer to her and reached out to take a painting off of the wall in front of them.

"Mr. Evans, do you mind if I take a look at your vent?" Grissom asked.

"Do whatever you need to do, Gil," Brass said as he entered the apartment, "I got us a new warrant. This one covers Mr. Evans apartment. Seems his wife is missing-" Brass turned to Evans "- Funny how you forgot to mention that earlier."

Sara moved to set up a small ladder for Grissom and once he was standing on top of it, he reached up and pulled the cover off of the vent, handing it to Sara.

"Did you know that this vent is connected to Cliff Renteria's apartment as well?" Grissom asked.

"Sure," Evans said, "Me and Cliff were always fighting about the temperature."

Grissom took the flashlight Sara offered up to him and turned back to the vent.

Sephilid beetles and flies. Grissom handed Sara her flashlight as he climbed down the ladder.

"Sara?"

"Yeah..."

The look on his face was all the command Sara needed. Grissom moved the ladder aside and took the hammer that Sara handed him. Together they began to tear down the wall.

"Hold on, hold on," Sara said suddenly, causing Grissom to cease his movements mid-swing. He watched as she reached into the wall and removed a white blanket.

"Alkylid. There's blood on this blanket."

Grissom raised an eyebrow at her, "And Dermestidae Masculatus."

Sara smirked, "That's Latin for 'You're hiding a dead body'."

"What's wrong?" Brass asked, noticing the beads of sweat forming on Stu Evans' forehead, "Didn't realize how bad a corpse can smell?

"So, you can tell us where the body is now or we can, well, we can tear this place apart piece by piece."

Evans looked between Brass, Grissom and Sara, not saying a word.

Sara shrugged, "I guess we get to do a little more destruction."

* * *

Less than an hour later, Sara, Grissom and Warrick had torn down several walls of Stu Evan's apartment with no luck. Warrick moved to the next wall as Sara swiped at the sweat rolling off the end of her nose with the back of her hand. She watched Warrick tap the wall before he turned to Grissom.

"I've got a hollow section."

Grissom gave him the go ahead to cut it open and Warrick took a box cutter from his kit and dug into the wall. When he pulled down the section of the wall, an ironing board dropped and he and Grissom both let out heavy sighs.

"Damn, are we in the wrong apartment?" Warrick asked.

Grissom shook his head, "I don't know... just, start with the floorboards, I'm going outside."

With that, Sara and Warrick watched their supervisor as he stormed away from the scene. They stood in uncomfortable silence for a minute.

"I should probably go after him," Sara said quietly.

Warrick nodded, "Go ahead, girl. I'll be okay in here. Take care of your man."

Sara smiled at her partner, silently thanking him for being so understanding. She turned on her heel and followed Grissom's path out the door.

When Sara found Grissom outside the apartment complex, his fore and middle fingers were pressed tightly to his throat and his eyes were on his watch.

"Ninety."

"Wow, a little more than seventy there, sweetheart," Sara said, sauntering over to him, placing her hands on the sides of his face, "Who are you mad at this time?"

"I don't know... I just, there are ten people in there working this case, Sara, and we've got nothing! There's a body in there and that guy knows where it is!"

He stopped to catch his breath and Sara waited. When he finally looked up at her, she smiled, "What's your pulse at now?"

"Its better," he said, removing his baseball cap and wiping sweat from his forehead.

Sara took a step toward him, lacing her fingers behind his head and leaning her forehead against his. She pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose and smiled, "You wanna take a walk around the block? Just to cool off a little?"

Gil shook his head, rubbing his forehead on hers and making her smile, "I'll be fine. We should probably go back inside, Warrick's waiting for us."

Sara sighed, "All right, if we have to."

Grissom kissed Sara quickly, not really wanting to let her go. Reluctantly moving apart, Grissom and Sara were quiet as they entered the apartment again.

"I'm gonna go get cleaned up," Grissom said, breaking away from Sara once again and heading toward the bathroom.

When they heard the door shut, affirming that their boss was out of earshot, Warrick and Sara turned to each other.

"Is he all right?" Warrick asked, his concern evident in his voice.

"He's fine, just a little stressed," Sara said with a shrug, "Just give him time to cool off."

But when Grissom emerged from the bathroom, he didn't seem to have cooled off at all.

"Brass, when did Renteria say he lost his hot water?" Grissom asked, eyeing Stu Evans suspiciously.

"He didn't say. Why?"

"Mr. Evans, did you know that you have no water pressure for your hot water?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah," Evans said, "I got a plumber coming out on Saturday."

"You know," Grissom said, "My Uncle Herb was a plumber, maybe I can help. Where's your installation?"

Sara shook her head, smirking a little but hiding it from Evans and Grissom. _Liar, she thought, Your Uncle Herb was a mathematician._

"In the basement," Sara heard Evans say.

"Let's take a look then."

* * *

Standing in the break room at the coffee pot with her back to the door, Sara missed Grissom's hesitant look as he entered behind her.

"Hey."

Sara's shoulders jerked slightly. Damn did she hate it when he did that. She turned and glared at him, sipping her coffee slowly.

"Yes?"

Grissom smiled at her terseness.

"Are you ready to go home now?" he asked, his voice becoming hoarse and seductive. Sara felt a chill ran down her spine and liquid heat dropped into the pit of her stomach.

"Hmm... I told Nicky and Warrick that I'd grab dinner with them," Sara said, but seeing the look on his face, she continued, "But I can always push it back. Let me go-"

"No, it's all right," Grissom told her quickly, "I'll go with you, maybe even drag Catherine along as well."

Sara looked at him, slightly stunned. It wasn't like they never went out as a group, the team had breakfast together at least once a week. But this time, right now, she didn't understand. She was almost positive that, by the tone of his voice, he was just as ready to go home as she was.

"Are you sure? Because I can always reschedule with the boys and the prospect of crawling into bed with you seems kind of hard to resist," Sara said, lowering her voice slightly as a couple of the day shift lab techs passed by the break room.

Grissom smiled at her, shaking his head and leading her by the elbow out of the break room.

"Patients, sweetheart, is not one of your virtues of late," he said quietly, "And, to answer your question, yes, I'm sure breakfast will be fine. Besides I have something important to share with the team."

At that, Sara glanced at Grissom out of the corner of her eye. Something to share with the team? She really had no idea what the hell he was talking about. But she did know that if she pushed him to tell her, he would make her wait, so she let it go.

* * *

By the time Grissom and Sara arrived at the diner, they were late.

Gil swore that he had forgotten something at home and that it was very important that he had it when they met the others at the dinner. Sara took advantage of his stop and changed her clothes and brushed her teeth. When they got back in her truck, Sara noticed that he wasn't carrying anything new, but she didn't push him.

Walking into the diner, Grissom smiled over Sara's shoulder at Catherine who was looking slightly nervous between Warrick and Nick. They made their way toward the team and Sara slid into their side of the booth first. Grissom joined her and the idle chatter began.

As a whole, they discussed their recent cases, Catherine and Nick's scuba diver in the tree and Warrick, Sara and Grissom's bleeder. Topics shifted and they talked about their personal lives for a while, learning about Nick's recent girlfriend and Lindsey's school play. It was then, when Catherine shot an odd glare at Grissom, that Sara realized that something was going on that she needed to know about.

"Hey," she said quietly, elbowing Gil gently in the ribs, "What's going on?"

He watched as she cocked her head in Catherine's direction and smiled to himself.

"Always the investigator," he muttered.

Sara scowled at his grin and he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the rest of the table.

"Hey guys, I have an announcement to make," he said, noticing the confused look on Sara's face. He turned halfway in the booth to face her and took both of her hands in his.

"Gil, what are you doing?" she asked quietly, silently praying that he was doing what she thought he was going to do.

"Sara, three hundred and seventy nine days ago, I asked you to come to Vegas because I needed your help. Two weeks later, I asked you to stay because I wanted you here with me. Now, one year later, I'm telling you that I love you, and I'm asking you to stay with me forever, I'm asking you to marry me," it came out just as he'd rehearsed it with Catherine that morning in his office. Nick handed him the leather jeweler's box, and he held it open to her, smiling at the tears in her eyes, "Sara, honey, will you marry me?"

She was shaking. For the first time in her life, Sara Sidle was speechless and the man before her had accomplished what no one else ever could. Yes, yes, yes, yes. The word repeated over and over in her head but she wasn't sure if she could say it out loud. She tried but it came out as a broken sob and she nodded her head fervently.

She watched Gil as he slipped the diamond ring onto her finger. She watched the tears form in his bright blue eyes. And seconds later, she felt the arms of the man that she would love for the rest of her life slip around her and pull her body into his, making her one with him.


	4. High Wire

**Disclaimer: **Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings: **G/S, what else is there?

**Rating: **PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary: **This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**Chapter Four- High Wire**

**Las Vegas, Nevada**

**May 2003**

**Crime Lab**

Sara sat at the break room table with her lunch laid out in front of her. She reached for the egg salad sandwich Gil had made for her that afternoon and she heard a small tearing sound. She glanced down and noticed the sleeve of her sweater had caught on her wedding ring and she let out a long sigh. The thread was snagged and a small hole was formed.

"Damn it," she muttered.

Sara pushed the sandwich aside and moved to the hallway, glancing up at Grissom's office door. The door was closed and the light was off, indicating that he wasn't in, which meant she'd have to take a detour to the locker room for her car keys. She had another shirt in the trunk of the car but Gil had driven them to work that evening and her keys were in her purse. He had the other set. She was just turning down the hall toward the locker room when she heard his voice behind her. She turned and watched as he spoke with Jacqui from the print lab. Sara took a few steps toward him, intent on catching up to him while he was stationary, but missed her chance as he started toward his office again. When Judy caught him just out side his office door to sign a few forms, Sara hung back and waited for the secretary to head back to her desk.

At the quiet sound of punk-rock music coming from somewhere to her right, Sara turned her head to catch a glimpse of Greg huddled over a lab print out. As if he sensed her staring, Greg looked up and smiled. Sara smiled back, waving a little. The next few moments seemed to pass in slow motion as Greg lifted his hand to wave back. But he didn't get the chance.

The explosion rocked the entire floor and Sara was knocked off her feet by the blast. She hit the ground hard, knocking the air from her lungs. Shards of glass and tiny flames rained down around her and she heard the fire alarm as it rang shrilly in her ears. When Sara was capable of opening her eyes, she looked over to find Greg lying unconscious beside her.

Please God, Sara prayed silently, let him be alive.

She closed her eyes tight to hold back tears. Her entire body ached and she knew that she must be bleeding. She could smell the coppery scent of blood. When she chanced another look at Greg, she was surprised to find his eyes open and staring back at her. Sara made a reach for his hand but immediately pulled back in pain. Greg's eyes closed again and for Sara, everything went black.

Sara watched the paramedics roll Greg out on a gurney. She vaguely noticed her husband at Greg's side but nothing was really registering in her head. She knew she was in shock. She was cold, so much that she was shaking, and she couldn't remember exactly how she got out of the building.

She jerked slightly at the sound of the ambulance sirens nearby and when she heard Gil call out to her, she couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes again.

"Sara?"

Sara glanced up at him and the look in his eyes caused her to shudder. He was terrified. He knelt down in front of her, running his finger across her cheek and catching her tears.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, muttering an almost silent, "Uh-huh."

Grissom smiled slightly and pressed a gentle kiss to his wife's temple. He glanced down at her left hand cradled in her lap.

"Honey, this doesn't look good," he told her softly, picking up her hand.

"It's fine," Sara said distantly, "God, clean up's gonna be a mess. We should get started."

"You need stitches, sweetheart."

"No, Gil, I'm okay."

Grissom wasn't listening to her protests. Instead, he grabbed the nearest paramedic and barked at him, "Would you take care of her please." He knelt down beside his wife again, "I have to go check on the others, but I promise you I'll be right back."

"Gil!" Sara grabbed his arm before he could go too far, "I-I think I should go to the hospital."

That stopped his movement. He turned abruptly and knelt down in front of her again, "Sara, what's wrong?"

"The baby-" Sara muttered, suddenly grabbing her stomach, "Something's wrong with the baby."

It was safe to say that, for the first time in his life, Gil Grissom was speechless. The paramedic just looked at him, not sure what he was supposed to do.

"Sara?"

"I'm sorry," she muttered through tears, "I wasn't going to tell you until tomorrow, it was going to be a surprise. I'm so sorry."

Grissom was pacing in the waiting room.

Catherine and Warrick approached the night shift supervisor slowly, casting worried glances at each other. Catherine entered the room first and sat down. She didn't speak. She waited for Grissom to take a seat beside her before she turned to him as a friend.

"How is she?"

Grissom shook his head, "I don't really know. The doctor's been in with her for the last hour, they wouldn't let me in."

Warrick took a step closer to the two, taking a seat across from them. He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.

"How far along is she?" he asked quietly.

"Not far," Grissom shrugged, "I didn't even know she was pregnant... she wanted to surprise me."

"Gil..." Catherine's arm went around him, pulling her into a tight hug. Catherine felt his shoulders shake with silent sobs and she glared at Warrick.

"Why don't I go get us some coffee?" he suggested, getting up to leave Catherine and Grissom alone in the waiting room.

"Gil, I'm sure that Sara and the baby will be fine," Catherine said softly, "She's a strong woman."

Grissom didn't say anything. He took a deep breath and glanced at Catherine, "I hope you're right."

Catherine, Warrick and Grissom sat in the waiting room in silence.

Forty nine minutes. It had been forty nine minutes and three seconds since the ambulance had pulled up in the bay and no one had come out to say a word to Grissom as to the status of his wife and child. He was shaking with nerves and his knuckles where clenched and white.

"Dr. Grissom?"

His immediate reaction was to stand up and demand answers, but he didn't. Instead, Grissom simply stood at the sound of his name and turned to the doctor standing in the doorway.

"How is she?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Dr. Grissom, I'm pleased to tell you that both your wife and child are perfectly fine. Sara needed a few stitches and I'd like to keep her overnight just for observation, but the baby's heartbeat is regular and strong."

"Thank god," Catherine and Warrick breathed together.

"Can I see her?" Grissom asked quickly, "Can I see my wife please?"

The doctor nodded, "Of course Dr. Grissom. Please, follow me."

"Gil?"

"Catherine, please, go back to the lab," Grissom told her, his supervisor side taking over now, "I need all three of you on top of this. I need to know what caused that explosion. And I want everyone taking turns checking in on Greg. He needs us right now."

Grissom entered the hospital room where his wife lay sound asleep. She was curled up on her right side, the same position she slept in at home, and a wave of relief washed over Grissom. She's fine, he thought, the doctor said she and the baby are fine... the baby, Sara and I are having a baby.

He pulled a chair up and sat down, being careful when he reached for her bandaged hand. He laced his fingers with hers and smiled as she squeezed his hand in response.

"Gil?" her voice was soft and sleepy.

"I'm here, Sara."

Grissom watched as she struggled to open her eyes but when she was finally able to open them just a fraction, she clamped them shut. The bright overhead lights where too much and Grissom moved slightly to turn them off.

"The baby?" she asked, suddenly becoming very alert, "Oh, God, Gil, the baby."

"The baby's fine, honey. The doctor said that you're both perfectly fine."

He rubbed her fingers gently, keeping his gaze locked on her face. She breathed a sight of relief and Grissom smiled.

"We're having a baby, Sara," he muttered quietly, lifting her hand to his lips, "Honey, we're having a baby."

Sara smiled and tried to open her eyes for him again. When she realized that the offending light had been turned off, she turned her beautiful brown eyes on him.

"I know," she whispered, "I love you, Gil."

A tear escaped down her scratched cheek and Grissom reached up to wipe it away, barely holding back his own tears, "I love you, too, Sara."

When Grissom returned to what was left of the LVPD crime lab, he was greeted by a not-at-all happy Covallo.

"You wanna tell me what the hell happened here, Gil?" Covallo snapped, following Grissom through the lad.

"I don't know yet, Robert," Grissom replied, his mind elsewhere.

"I'm going to need a complete report of all evidence inventoried from each case. I want to know what we lost, what was contaminated, and what's salvageable," Covallo instructed.

Grissom nodded, "We have lims backup for every computer on the network. I'm sure we've only lost an hour or two of data."

"Unfortunately for us, that'll never hold in court," Covallo said, taking in all the damage that had been done, "Defense attorneys are gonna rip us apart, Gil. The double homicide movie star case from last year? Comprised evidence, lax procedures, mistakes."

"We got a conviction on that case, Robert," Grissom told him, remembering distinctly the way his relationship with Sara had been brought up on the stand, the way his hearing loss had been used against him. He shuddered at the thought.

"You were lucky."

Grissom didn't argue. He knew damn well that they were very lucky that the case had stuck. So much had gone wrong there...

"I want to know how this happened, Gil, and I want to know soon."

"And who's to blame?" Grissom asked lowly, tossing a glance in Covallo's direction. "I'm having Catherine run the investigation. Nick, Sara and I are working a murder."

Covallo nodded his approval, "I'll be waiting for her report."

Grissom watched the other man start to walk away, turning back only to say, "And I'm happy to hear that Sidle and Sanders are both all right."

"Thank you," Grissom replied.

They went separate ways. Grissom to collect what was left of his evidence and Covallo to his office.

Catherine was hesitant as she entered Greg's room at the hospital. Warrick was close behind her and the two of the stood on one side of Greg's bed, the tech could barely keep his eyes open.

"Look, I'm really tired you guys," he said numbly.

Catherine could tell that he was still pretty shaken up and she didn't want to be too hard on him, but they needed to get some answers.

"I know, Greg, but this won't take long, I promise," Warrick said, waiting for Catherine to start asking her questions.

"Why don't you tell me exactly what you remember, Greg. Anything you can think of will help."

Greg thought for a minute, closing his eyes as he tried to picture it in his head.

"I was working three cases. Mixing solvents," he told them, picturing it in his head.

"Did you notice anything unusual before the explosion? Anything burning?" Catherine asked.

Greg shrugged, "Plastic. Burning plastic. I guess I turned around to see where it was coming from but... oh my God, Sara! Sara was right in front of me before the explosion, outside the lab. Is she all right?"

"Hey, Greg, man, calm down. Sara's fine. She took a pretty hard fall and got a little scratched up, but she's fine. She's a few doors down from you," Warrick told him, "When we're done here, I'll have one of the nurses bring her in to see you."

"She was admitted?" Greg asked, somewhat confused, "I thought you said she just got a little scratched up."

Warrick and Catherine glanced at each other, both of them smiling pretty brightly.

"Yeah, she did, because, well, I really should let Sara tell you this but, Sara's pregnant Greg. Griss and Sara are gonna have a baby, man."

The look of utter shock on the younger man's face made Warrick chuckle.

"Yeah, Greggo," Catherine said, "We know how you feel. It came as a shock to all of us. Grissom didn't even know until this happened."

Greg didn't say anything and Catherine could see the wheels turning in his head. She smiled and patted his hand gently.

"We'll let you get some rest Greg," she said, "And I'll let Sara know that you want to see her."

Twenty four hours later, with their case almost wrapped up, Sara was back to work.

She sat in front of her open locker and reached for her ID, wiping it clean of dust and dirt from the explosion. Her mind drifted and her hand rested over her lower stomach. She closed her eyes tightly. Our baby could have died, she thought. She swallowed hard and fought back tears.

"Hey," Nick's voice called form the doorway, "You back on?"

Sara turned, smiling at him. She nodded, "Yeah. I hear you're going to prison."

"Hmm," Nick smiled and headed on down the hall, calling over his shoulder, "I'll meet you outside."

Sara smiled again and turned back to her locker. She reached down into her purse and pulled out the small brown bindle that held her personals from the hospital. She dumped the contents onto her hand, focusing on her diamond engagement ring and her wedding band. Two of the most precious things she owned. The most precious being her husband whom she knew was wandering around the lab somewhere, followed shortly by their unborn child in her womb.

She stood up, replacing the now empty bindle in her purse and slipped her rings onto her finger. She closed her locker door, secured her ID badge to her shirt, and headed out into the hall.

Sara and Nick sat across from Jesus Cardenas in the visitor room of the Western Nevada Correctional Facility. He was the only motive they could find in their murder case. The victim, Allison Carpenter, had been visiting her boyfriend, Jason Kent, at the facility while at the same time having an affair with Cardenas. Motive for Kent to have killed Allison.

"What can you tell us about Allison Carpenter?" Nick asked, his hands folded on the table in front of him. Sara stood a few feet behind him, leaning against the wall, he arms crossed protectively over her chest.

"Knew her pretty well," Cardenas said, his cocky tone of voice sending a chill down Sara's spine, "But I guess you already knew that didn't you. How'd you like the show?"

Sara glanced at the security camera in the corner over her head, then glared back down at Cardenas.

"Allison Carpenter is dead," Sara snapped.

"And I got an alibi."

"Sure, you're perfectly innocent," Sara told him, growing angrier with each word, "So tell me, why does a woman like Allison, completely obsessed with Jason Kent, want anything to do with you?"

Nick caught up with Sara, speaking quickly before Cardenas could give her a reason to punch him, "You remember Jason. Two cells down. Hates your guts."

"He was an angry boy. Not much sense," Cardenas told them, "He didn't seem to understand how things work around here."

"Inside?" Nick asked.

"In or out," Cardenas replied, "Doesn't matter either way. This is the good ol' U.S. of A. Country of capitalism. Everybody's either a buyer or a seller."

"But which one was Allison?" Sara asked.

Cardenas smirked at her. Nick put out an arm as a barrier between them when Sara took a step forward. She was ready to pounce.

"Exchange of goods for services. I gave Jason credit, he walks out of here in debt. Thinks because he's on the outside, he don't have to pay. Man who doesn't pay his debt undermines the whole system."

Sara didn't quite understand yet and she had to ask, "What does he owe you for?"

As they walked down the hall toward Grissom's office, Nick noticed the way Sara tensed as they walked past the remains of Greg's lab. He put a gentle hand on her arm and she turned to him, offering him a fake smile. He recognized the one, it was the same smile she plastered on her face when she was trying not to vomit.

"Sar?"

"I'm fine, Nick," she said immediately.

Before Nick could argue with her on that, Grissom appeared in his office door and he exchanged a worried glance with his wife. She smiled at him, the fake one she'd just given Nick, but he didn't question her. He knew she was still wound a little tight after the explosion and they would discuss it at home later, when she was ready.

"What've you got?" he asked, gesturing for them to follow him down the hall.

"Jason Kent's disciplinary file," Nick told his boss, handing over the file, "He spent a while in solitary. Seems he got caught with heroin on more than one occasion. Once in 97' and then again in 99'."

"Did our lab do the exam of the physical evidence?" Grissom asked, attempting to find the info in the file in his hands.

"Yeah, and I pulled that record, too," Sara told him, "Concluded to be black tar heroin. With traces of red and blue linen."

The three of them stopped walking.

"Linen?" Grissom asked, cocking his head toward her, "In a prison?"

"It seems that, when the got him for the heroin, that was enough cause they didn't follow through on the trace," Sara explained. They resumed walking.

"So, can one of you explain to me how Jason Cardenas got a hold of heroin in prison?" Grissom asked.

Sara and Nick looked at each other before Nick spoke.

"Well, I mean, come on Griss, you know how these guys are," Nick said, "They'll do anything they can to trick the system. We're thinking the drugs probably came from Jesus."

"So... what? Are we implying that Jason Kent buys heroin from Jesus, falls into debt, and then pays him off with Allison Carpenter?"

Nick shrugged, "They passed her around like a party favor."

"No," Sara said with a shake of her head, "She passed herself around."

Grissom and Nick both glanced at her, immediately noticing the uneasiness in her voice. Sara turned from them, glancing back at the destruction behind her. Grissom gave Nick a weary look and shifted the papers in his hands. He gave his wife a fleeting look and walked away from them.

Brass met Grissom, Nick and Sara in the break room, each of them looking slightly on edge. Sara's bandage hand had been bothering her all night and now the stitches were starting to itch. Nick was on his seventh cup of coffee in two hours and it was the strong stuff. Grissom was starting to feel the pressure from the higher-ups about the cause of the lab explosion. And Brass... well Brass was simply starting to get the feeling that everyone else was ready to explode at any minute and that made him edgy.

"Jacqui identified another set of prints from our scene," Grissom told them as they gathered around the table, "A Miguel Durado."

"We have an address?" Nick asked.

"I've got it right here," Brass said, pulling a sheet of paper out of his jacket pocket, "And a warrant to go along with it. Anybody up for riding along?"

"I'll go," Sara said immediately, not giving Nick a chance.

"Sara, do you think that's really a good idea?" Brass asked. Grissom silently thanked him.

Sara shrugged, "I'm fine, Brass. I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that, Sara," Brass said, "It's just that, well, until a few hours ago, you were still in the hospital."

"And I got a clear bill of health," Sara snapped, "I want to go."

Brass and Grissom exchanged worried looks and Sara stepped between them, looking her husband in the eye, "I'm going, Grissom."

He didn't argue with her and she turned and made her exit before he could. Grissom watched her leave before turning to Brass.

"I know, I know, she shouldn't be going," Grissom said, "But I can't tell her what she can and can't do, Jim. I get enough shit from the woman at home. Just... keep an eye on her for me will you. She's had a rough couple of days and I'm still a little worried about the baby."

"Right," Brass said, throwing over his shoulder as he left, "Can't wait 'til her hormones kick in."

Sara stood behind Brass outside of Durado's apartment. Four uniforms were ready in front of them and Brass' arm was across Sara's chest, pinning her to the wall behind him.

"Las Vegas police!" one of the officers shouted, "Open up!"

When they received no response, the door was kicked in and the four officers moved into the small apartment. Brass glanced at Sara, silently telling her to stay put. He moved in behind the other officers and Sara didn't waste any time, following them into the run-down room.

She moved carefully around Brass and his team, trying not to be noticed by them, and drew her gun. She worked her way toward the closed door of what she assumed was the bathroom. Kicking in it, she discovered a cowering Durado sitting on the toilet.

"I got him!"

Brass was behind her instantly, followed by a uniform who stepped around them both to cuff Durado. Brass pulled Sara by the arm away from the room. He could see her shaking slightly.

"Holster your weapon," he told her firmly, "What the hell was that, Sara?"

"I got him," Sara said, unable to contain the shudder that shook her.

Brass shook his head, leading Sara out of the room, "Your husband is gonna kill me for this... I think you're done now hombre."

Sara lay on the couch in the break room. Her knees pulled up and her arms under her head, she was sleeping lightly.

Grissom smiled down at her, taking in her beautiful features before turning to Nick and Warrick at the table behind him.

"How long has she been like this?" he asked softly.

Nick shrugged, "She was out of it when we came in, been here for almost forty minutes."

Warrick nodded his agreement, checking his watch.

"Is she okay?" he asked Grissom quietly as he sat at the table with them.

"I'm not sure," Grissom told them, "Physically, she and the baby are fine, but emotionally, she's still a little shaken. Right now, I really think she needs to go home and rest but she insisted on working tonight. I may be her husband, but I don't get much say in how she does her job."

Sara stirred slightly and the three men fell silent. They waited to see if she would actually wake before resuming their conversation. Nick shook his head.

"Not that this is really any of my business," he said softly, "But is Sara sleeping okay at home? I mean, the only time she ever has ever fallen asleep here, was during the Shelton case and that was years ago. She usually doesn't get like this."

"It's not that she doesn't sleep well at home, Nick," Grissom told him, "She sleeps fine at home, trust me. But she spent last night in the hospital and she's been through a traumatic experience. Put the two together with the fact that she recently found out that she was pregnant, it's been a pretty hard two weeks for her."

The three men fell silent again and shared a sympathetic look at Sara.

When the end of their shift finally rolled around, Grissom was exhausted. Sara had gone back to work, making a good job of avoiding him for most of the night. Brass had told him exactly how she had acted at the scene and it had unnerved him. He just wanted to find her, take her home, and hold onto her forever.

The knock on his door broke his thoughts and the smiling face of his wife made him grin.

"Are you ready to head home?" she asked, coming in to take a seat opposite him.

"I suppose," he told her with a shrug, "I take it you're feeling better?"

At her confused look he said, "I talked to Brass, Sara."

"Oh," she suddenly became very interested in her wedding ring.

Grissom moved around his desk and knelt down in front of her, "Honey, look at me."

He tilted her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his, smiling at her.

"Sara, I know that the last two days haven't been easy for you, sweetheart, but you can't do this to yourself. You can't put yourself in danger like you did today, I don't want to lose you or our baby. When Warrick told me what happened at Durado's apartment, my heart was in my throat, honey. I need you here with me, do you understand that? Do you know how much I need you, Sara?" the last of this was said with a lot of emphasis as he shook her slightly.

Sara noticed a shift in Gil's breathing and the tears forming in his eyes. She lifted a hand to his face and felt her own tears start to move as she caught his first one on her thumb.

"Oh, god, Gil," Sara breathed, her voice catching, "I love you so much. I'm sorry."

Gil shook his head, pressing his forehead into hers, "I know, Sara, I know. I love you, too."

He wiped away a few of her tears and she noticed the card in his shirt pocket. She pulled it free, noting that it had come from his Rolodex. Sara read the information on the card:

DR. KAREN ROTH, ENT

SUNDOWN MEDICAL GROUP

9548 DESERT WAY LAS VEGAS, NV 89108

(702) 555-0127

She glanced at her husband, a pang of worry coursing through her. The look of guilt on his face made it worse and she felt the tears well up in her eyes again. His arms locked around her, one hand in her hair, pressing her face to his shoulder.

"Sara, I-I, I have otosclorosis," he muttered, "It's the disease that my mother had that caused her to lose her hearing. Honey, I can barely hear you anymore."

Sara choked on her cry and buried herself deeper in the comfort of Gil's arms. He tightened his grip on her and began to cry again himself.

"Is there... I mean, what can we do?" Sara asked, her voice shaky and muffled against his neck.

"The only option for treatment is an invasive surgery," he told her, "That's why I was going to call Dr. Roth. I have to go through with this, Sara, it's the only way for me to keep my career... and I don't know what I would do if I couldn't hear your voice. And, I want to hear our child's first words, I want to be able to help him, or her, if something's wrong. I want to know when my child needs me."

They pulled apart, both reaching to wipe tears from the other's face. Sara smiled gently, taking her free hand and placing it over his ear. Gil's eyes closed and more tears followed the path down his cheeks. Sara choked out another quite sob, unable to hold it in longer. Their faces pressed together gently, foreheads and noses touching.

"Gil, I want you to do whatever you need to do," Sara told him, "If this surgery is what you want, I'll stand beside you the whole way."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Sara's breath was sweet and warm on his face and Gil couldn't make himself move.

"Sara," he whispered, his voice barely audible, "Let's go home."

One Week Later

Sara sat alone in the waiting room at Desert Palms Hospital. Grissom had been in surgery for three hours and, although she had been warned that the procedure could take five or six hours, she was still becoming antsy. She wanted it to be over with, she wanted her husband to be awake and talking to her and telling her that everything would be all right.

"Sara?"

Her head shot up immediately and she registered the figure in the doorway, taking her in with tired eyes. The figure moved closer to her, taking a seat in the nearest chair.

"Sara? Are you all right?"

Sara smiled, "Hi Catherine."

"Hi yourself," Catherine said smiling, "Have they told you anything?"

"No, but I can't say I'm surprised," Sara shook her head, "I was warned that it might be a while. I guess... I don't know, I'm just a little anxious."

"Completely understandable," Catherine said, taking Sara's hand, "He's your husband, Sara. No one would expect you to be anything less than crazy... anxious is pretty damn calm in my opinion."

Sara just nodded.

An hour later, they still hadn't heard a word about Gil's condition and Catherine spoke up, "You've got to be starving, why don't I go get us something to eat. Anything in particular for the mom-to-be?"

Sara shrugged, "As long as it doesn't contain meat, I won't throw it up."

Catherine smiled at her, patting her on the shoulder as she left.

Sara sat silently in the room, alone once again. She kept her eyes directly ahead of her on the opposite wall. It was all she could do to keep herself from screaming out her frustration. She was pregnant and the father of her child was having an operation that could possibly change their entire lives. If Gil lost his hearing, everything that they had ever known would change. She would have to become more adept with her ASL. Things around the house would have to be changed. Sensors installed so that he would know if the phone was ringing or if someone was at the door. He wouldn't be able to work, not in the field anyway. That would be the hardest thing for him, Sara knew, giving up his second greatest love. Gil had spent his entire life building his career, making a name for himself in the world of Forensic entomology. Sara didn't think that she would be able to watch his career deteriorate, taking his spirit down with it.

Her thoughts were broken by a voice in the doorway behind her.

"Mrs. Grissom?"

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone for the supportive reviews. I'm glad that everyone loves this fic so much. It's definitely one of my favorites.


	5. Butterflied

**Disclaimer: **Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings: **G/S, what else is there?

**Rating: **PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary: **This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**Chapter Five- Butterflied**

**January 2004**

**Las Vegas, Neveda**

When the door to Debbie Marlin's house opened and Grissom stepped out, his eyes locked with Sara's. They didn't break contact for a long silent moment and when they did, it was because Sara forced her self to look away.

"I don't want anyone in that house but CSI," Grissom ordered, "Warrick, you got the car."

"Which one?" Warrick asked, turning to the two cars in the parking lot.

"Both of them," Grissom replied.

Brass shook his head, tossing a glance over his shoulder, "Take the Honda, the VW belongs to the vic's friend. She called it in."

"Too bad," Warrick muttered, picking up his kit, "This is a day she'll never forget."

And with that, he stalked off toward his car.

Grissom turned toward his wife, not able to make himself look her in the eye, "Sara, you take the perimeter."

"What?" she snapped, "You just did a one hour walk through, the perimeter cannot be that high of a priority, Griss."

The look on Sara's face sent a flush across Grissom's skin and Catherine shook her head, "Well, I'm going to take that as my cue to leave. Jim, care to join me on my walk to the front door?"

"Certainly."

The detective and the blond CSI turned and moved toward Debbie Marlin's front door, leaving Grissom to stand silently in front of his wife. Sara reached out and took his trembling hand, causing him to look up at her.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked gently, running her thumb along the top of his hand.

Grissom shrugged, "I don't want you in that house Sara."

"Why? Tell me what's wrong."

"Honey, please, promise me you won't go into that house... please."

The fear in his eyes sent a chill through Sara. She squeezed his hand gently, hoping to provide some sort of comfort. He smiled at her briefly, leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to her temple.

"You know I love you, right?"

Grissom nodded, "I love you, too, sweetheart-" He laid his hand gently on Sara's now eight month pregnant stomach "- Both of you."

Sara smiled, laying her hand over his. They stood silently like that for what seemed like forever, both reveling in the feel of their child growing in her womb. It wasn't until Catherine reappeared that they remembered where they were. Grissom withdrew himself from his wife and turned to his collegue.

"Come on, dad," Catherine said with a grin, "We've got a scene to process."

Grissom and Sara smiled at her as she moved toward the house. He glanced back at Sara for a moment, hesititating slightly.

"Go, Gil, Cath's right, we have work to do," Sara said lightly, "I'll be fine. And I promise, I'll stay out of the house, nothing but perimeter in Nevada's winter weather for pregnant little ol' me."

Grissom smirked at her playful expression.

"I could just have Jim run you back to lab..."

Sara shoved him a little and he smiled at her. They spent another moment staring at each other and Sara could sense Grissom's seriousness. She gave him another gentle push and pointed in the direction that Catherine had gone. He gave her a final worried look and went after Catherine.

Sara stood alone for a moment before Brass moved to her side. The two of them watched the door to Debbie Marlin's house close before Sara turned to Brass.

"What's in that house, Jim?" Sara asked quietly.

"I don't think that Gil wants you to know that, Sara," Jim told her, "And I've seen what's so scary behind those doors and I'm gonna have to agree with your husband on this one, kid, you shouldn't know what's in there."

With a quick pat on her back, Brass was gone, leaving Sara to worry about her husband.

Two hours after arriving at the scene, Sara leaned in over the backseat of Debbie Marlin's car, watching Warrick as he took photos.

"I have absolutely nothing," she huffed, "How 'bout you?"

Warrick pointed at the groceries in the backseat, "I got a lot. Check this out."

"Bananas, stuffed mushrooms."

Warrick nodded, "Chocolate syrup, six pack of soda, box of condoms."

"No surprises there," Sara smirked at him.

Warrick laughed a little, "Fresh bag of groceries in an unlocked car?"

"Maybe she was interrupted."

Grissom stared at the blue butterfly in his hands. It was beautiful, gorgeous even. It reminded him of Sara. He put the butterfly back on the dresser and picked up a photo there. It was a picture of Debbie, smiling brightly with her arms stretched out over her head. He stared at it, unable to get her image out of his mind. He sighed, shaking his head, and put the picture back down in it's place.

He glanced in the mirror above the dresser and imagined Debbie sitting on the bed behind him. As she turned around to look in her mirror, his image of her morphed into that of his wife and he couldn't help the shudder that passed through him.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes, feeling fatigued after only a couple of hours of work. This was the second day in a row he'd been in this house, only this time he was going on little or no sleep. Something was wrong, this case was gonna get to him and he wasn't prepared for the emotional trauma he would be forced to face.

The sound of his cell phone brought him back to reality and he reached for it.

"Grissom."

"Hey, it's me." Sara.

"Sara, honey, I'm in bad area, I'm gonna have to call you back."

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that I got a skin tag off the bathrub pipe drain," she told him quickly, probably trying to avoid being cut off.

"Skin tag? Uh, good, give it to Greg," he told her, not sure how much longer he could hold his emotions in check with her.

Sara hesitated and he could tell that she'd stopped walking, "Yeah, I did. Hey, do you want me to come over there and give you a hand?"

"No," he said immediately regretting how harsh the word sounded, "I-I'm fine. I'll-I'll, um, I'll talk to you at home, Sara."

With that, he hung up. He knew that Sara would, in some way, understand his hesitation, but he also knew that she wouldn't like it. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment and the tears in his eyes finally started to fall.

Sara took a seat across from Catherine and Warrick, not sure that she wanted to be a part of a group conversation with her husband over the phone. The intercom sat on the table between them as Catherine began.

"We know that, two days ago, Debbie Marlin is off work and at some time that morning, she buys groceries."

"At Pendale's," Warrick continued, "the closest store in West Charleston."

"Brass talked to one of the cashiers," Sara said, "He remembers seeing her just before his break at quarter after eleven."

"The store's about twenty minutes from her house," Catherine said, looking around the table, "Where's Nick?"

"American Academy of Forensics Science Convention," Sara told her, shrugging.

Grissom huffed and Sara heard him shift, "Guys, can we continue please?"

"She comes home from the store. She parks in the driveway . Begins to unload."

Warrick continues, "Takes out the perishibles first. Has to go back out and probably leaves the front door open."

"Explains why there were no signs of forced entry," Sara said with a small shrug.

Grissom was quiet for a minute but they could here him moving through the scene. A door opened and he walked more.

"Getting ready for her date?" Catherine asked.

More silence on the other end of the phone and Sara knew that Gil was getting caught up in the images in his head.

"Lighting candles. Mutli-tasking."

Warrick muttered, "She opens a bottle of wine. Two glasses."

Catherine shrugged, "Her girlfriend said she was locking down for an afternoon with Michael Clark."

"Nosy neighbor puts Clark's Mercedes in the driveway around noon," Sara said.

At that moment in the conversation, Greg entered the room with a printout in hand.

"Thought you guys should know," Greg panted, a little out of his breath from his jog to the break room, "The hair Sara got from the drain is a match to the bags of human remains found in the alley. Jacqui confirmed the prints, it's Michael Clark."

"Okay, most of our effort has been put into finding another victim?" Catherine thought outloud.

"Michael Clark," Grissom said, startling all of them, "But can we place him dead at the house?"

No one answered.

"Greg, what else can you tell us about the hair?" he asked.

"You mean hairs?" Greg replied, "There were two. The first was what was used to identify the vic. The second was ancillary. Arm or leg hair, maybe."

"Found it in the tub drain," Sara clarified.

A moment later, Grissom said, "The avatar of choice... for dismemberment."

Greg spoke up again, "Well Jacqui didn't find any prints on the blade or handle of the scaple you guys found at the scene. But the blood belongs to both victims."

"So, Michael Clark was dead in the tub," Catherine concluded, "We just don't know how he got there."

Grissom was kneeling on the floor in the hallway, testing the carpet for GSR, when Catherine entered the house. She stood silently watching him for a moment before she spoke.

"Gil, don't tell me you never went home."

He didn't look up at her as he continued to test the carpet.

"All right," he said, that being as much of an answer as he wanted to give, "I just started in here. Haven't been in any of the other rooms yet."

Catherine shook her head behind him, "Your wife is gonna start worrying about you. Come on, get up, you're into your thrid shift already, Gil. I mean, I'm all for the overtime, but this is getting out of hand. You have a pregnant wife at home, you can't do this to her, or to yourself."

Grissom thought about that for a moment before announcing, "My knees can't take this anymore."

Catherine smiled grimly, "Have you eaten anything?"

"What'd you bring?" Grissom asked, his stomach growling at the prospect of food.

Catherine shrugged, "I'll check the fridge."

As she moved into the kitchen, she heard Grissom call after her, "We have to replace that!"

Catherine eventually got him to move outside onto the patio, giving him a cup of yogurt and some peanut butter. She sat down across from him.

"Feel better?" she asked with a smirk.

He glanced at her over the tops of his glasses.

Catherine laughed at him a little, "Well, now that we've fed you, we should probably talk about a shower."

The idea of taking a shower at the scene threw him slightly off balance and his eyes widen with confusion.

"I meant at your place," Catherine told him, shaking her head, "You need to go home, Gil."

"As soon as we find some evidence," he told her, "I promise."

Catherine shook her head, "With fresh eyes you won't miss it. Besides, when was the last time you kissed Sar, Gil? When was the last time you told her you love her, huh? You can't start pulling away from her now, she's pregnant and hormonal and right now is the time she needs you the most."

Grissom placed the yogurt container on the table in front of his and removed his glasses. Catherine was right, he was exhausted and he missed Sara. But not as much as he would miss her if something like this ever happened to her. He need to find out what happened to Debbie Marlin. He needed the closure for himself.

"Just walk me through it will you?"

Catherine sighed, "All right. The bathroom is where things got started -- candles, oils, steam shower, cleaned up, oiled up, sexed up."

Grissom opened the jar of peanut butter, sticking his finger into it. He stuck the finger in his mouth and thought for a moment.

"Let's go back to the bedroom."

The entire team, minus Nick, worked Debbie Marlin's case. Warrick spent the majority of his time in the lab processing the evidence Gil and Catherine collected from the scene. Sara had been, in a way, kept off of the case. She'd been asked to do small, mudane things that any lab tech could easily do. Grissom's subtle way of keeping her back.

What had bothered Sara the most about their current case was her husband's interest in it. He had become emotionally involved and Sara could only remember one other case that had occupied him in that way. That case had involved an innocent baby who's 3 year old little brother had accidentally smothered him with an over mitt. Sara shuddered, remembering the way Gil had let out his frustrations with her the morning they'd solved the case... she had craddled him in her arms. But the case they were working was different, it involved a thirty-something year old woman, not a child. Gil didn't generally become emotionally involved in cases that didn't involve children.

When he asked Sara to take Debbie Marlin's toe prints, she knew that she had to find a reason for his emotional withdrawl from her. Three days, he had spent three continuous days at the Marlin house. He called her to tell her to rest, to make sure she was taking care of herself and the baby, but he hadn't been home in seventy two hours and counting.

Sara stood in the doorway of the locker room, watching Catherine as she changed her boots and pulled on her jacket.

"Hey, Cath, have you seen Grissom?" Sara asked softly.

Catherine looked up at her, smiling grimly, "He's still at the scene."

"Oh," Sara dropped her eyes to the file in her hands, "I eliminated both victims from the print you pulled off the bed."

"Well, we know that she was sleeping with more than one of her collegues," Catherine replied.

Sara nodded but didn't say more.

Catherine watched her for a reaction as she asked, "Have you seen Debbie?"

"Yeah," Sara said, shrugging. Catherine noted the distance in her voice.

"And?"

"Yeah, I compared her toe prints," Sara muttered.

"If I didn't know any better," Catherine said, dropping her voice to just above a whisper, "I'd think that was you lying in there on that table."

"I didn't really look at her face," Sara forced out, swallowing the lump in her throat. She didn't want to talk about this here, she didn't want to talk about it with Catherine. She just wanted to see her husband, to lie in his arms and reassure him that she was alive, that she wasn't Debbie Marlin, she was still here for him.

Catherine knew damn well that Sara was lying, she could tell by the look in her eyes. But she wouldn't push her, Gil would talk to her about it. She glanced at the younger woman, watching the shift in her posture, "Oh."

"Catherine, can you just let Grissom know I was looking for him?"

"Yeah."

Sara turned and left Catherine in the locker room to stare after her.

Sara sat quietly in the silence of her husband's office. She rested her hands on her stomach, feeling their unborn child kicking her softly. She smiled to herself.

The first trimester of her pregnancy had gone by quickly, which pleased Sara because her morning sickness was almost unbearable. By the end of her second trimester, they knew that their child was perfectly normal, as they had both expected, with ten fingers and ten toes. They hadn't been told the sex of the child because they had agreed that they wanted to be surprised. They had pictures of all of Sara's sonograms in a folder at home but Gil had locked them in the safe the moment they received them. Sara had, at one point, wished that she knew the baby's gender so that she could pick a name, but she had changed her mind for Gil. He was adament about not knowing the gender before the birth and Sara would've felt guilty if she knew and he didn't.

The last two months of her pregnancy had proven to be the most interesting. In her last week of her fifth month, Sara had flown to California alone. Gil had insisted that she go see her parents so that they could share in the joys of pregnancy with her before she was restricted from flying. He didn't go with her, which Sara had initially found unnerving, but once she reached her parents' Bed and Breakfast, her uneasy vanished and she was able to relax.

Little did she know that in the two weeks she was on vacation, Gil had gone out to Hendersen, bought them a four bedroom, two bathroom ranch home with a huge back yard. Nick and Warrick had been in on the whole thing, offering to paint the bedroom across the hall from the master bedroom, making a nursery for their baby. They had choosen to use neutral colors, yellow and green, and Warrick even painted a mural of the forest on one wall. The entire house was furnished in just two weeks and Catherine had taken the liberty of framing Sara's sonograms and some other photos that had been taken of her during the pregnancy.

"Samantha."

They had been on the way to a scene, Warrick, Grissom and Sara. It had really come out of nowhere, they weren't even talking about the baby.

"Excuse me?" Sara said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I think that, if the baby is a girl, we should name her Samantha," he explained, smiling at her bemused expression, "Samantha Grace Sidle-Grissom."

Sara nodded, smiling, "Why Samantha?"

"You don't get it?" Gil asked.

Sara shook her head, frowning momentarily.

"I get it," Warrick spoke up, "A mix of your initials. S-G-S-G. Cute, Griss."

Grissom smiled, turning his attention to his wife again.

"I like it," Sara said, "But, no hyphen. Just Samantha Grace Grissom. My initials aren't S-S anymore, honey, they're S-G. I don't need to be Sara Sidle anywhere but at work."

Grissom was quiet for a moment before nodding, "All right."

Sara silently prayed that the child growing in her was a girl. She knew that her husband wanted a daughter more than anything and she wanted more than anything to make him happy.

When the phone on Gil's desk rang, Sara's thoughts were interrupted and she stood to answer it.

"Las Vegas Crime Lab, Sara Sidle speaking."

"Sara? Honey, didn't I call my office number?"

It was Gil. Sara smiled.

"You did, but I was resting on your sofa. I needed to feel something that was close to you, something you touched," Sara said softly. When he didn't reply, she continued on, "Are you still at the scene?"

"No, I'm in the car," he said, making Sara smile in relief, "I'll be there soon."

"That's good," Sara yawned.

"Sara, honey, are you all right?" he asked gently.

Sara nodded to herself, saying to him, "I'm fine, just a little tired. I needed to put my feet up for a while, that's all."

"Why don't you go home, sweetheart?"

"Not until-" she paused for another yawn "-You get here. I don't want to go home to an empty bed again, Gil. I need you."

He noticed the slight hitch in her breath when she said the last three words. Something was wrong. He knew he'd distanced himself lately but he couldn't help it. He needed to be strong for Sara. She was eight months pregnant and seeing the body of a woman who could've been her twin posed in such a horrible scene. Sara became emotionally attatched so easily, if the victim resembled her... he didn't want to think about what that would do to her.

"I'll be there soon, Sara, and we'll go home, I promise."

Sara smiled and yawned again, "Hurry, Gil, I'm exhausted."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

When they arrived at home, Gil could barely keep his eyes open long enough to carry himself into the bedroom. Sara followed him in, closing the door behind them and watching as he undressed himself and crawled under the covers. He watched her for a second, wondering if she planned on joining him.

"Sara?"

She smiled at him, "Sorry, I was just watching. I missed you, you know."

Sara started toward the bed, removing clothes as she went until she was lying down beside him under the covers. The darkness of their room was peaceful and Sara felt like she would fall asleep in seconds. But she didn't want to sleep. It had taken Gil three days to just come home and be with her, she needed him to talk to her now too.

"Grissom, tell me about Debbie Marlin," Sara whispered into the darkness of their bedroom, "Tell me about this case."

"Sara..."

"Please, Gil," she whispered again, "I need to know why you've been so... distant lately. We need to talk about this."

Gil shifted behind her and Sara panicked, thinking that she'd made him angry. She turned enough to watch him prop himself up against the headboard. Then he reached for her, pulling her onto his lap, locking his arms around her.

"Sara, Debbie Marlin's case... I mean, she reminded me-" he paused, unable to tell her what he was thinking.

"She had my face," Sara said, so quietly that Gil barely heard her. He shuddered at the image of Debbie Marlin's body as it came immediately to his mind.

"Yes she did," Gil pressed a gentle kiss into her hair. He felt close to tears. "Sara, I was terrified when I saw her lying there, blood pooled around her. I froze, I've never felt so out of place, honey. All I could think about was getting out of that house to find you waiting outside for me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

"Sara, I chose to go through it alone, of my own accord," he told her, "Because I needed to go through it alone. I needed to prove to myself that I could be strong for you, for us."

Sara rested her back against his chest, laying her head on his shoulder. She nodded at his confession, urging him to go on.

"You looked at her, honey, saw her face... I-I thought she was you," he muttered, his voice cracking a little, "I knew that, when I closed my eyes, I would see you lying there, hear your screams. God, honey, I was terrified."

Sara felt his tears hit her bare skin and she turned into him as much as she could, pressing gentle kisses along his jawline. He didn't kiss her back but he enveloped her in his arms. Sara was quiet and patient, letting him cry over the idea of losing her, she'd cried hundreds of times over him.

Finally, his sobs became silent and Sara tilted her head up to him.

"I'm here," she whispered, "Right here, Gil, and I'm not Debbie Marlin, I love you and I would never, ever hurt you."

"Maybe not intentionally but-"

"No, no buts, Gil," Sara said, "I won't ever leave you, Gil Grissom. Not unless you start hitting me, honey, which I know you never will."

"I couldn't," he breathed, "I could never hurt you, Sara."

Neither of them spoke for a minuted. Sara suddenly jumped a little and giggled.

"What's wrong?" Gil asked, concern flushing his face.

Sara didn't say anything but as she shifted his arms from behind her back, he knew what she was laughing about. She placed his hand on her lower stomach and he felt what she was feeling. The look on his face was one of pure love and Sara knew that he enjoyed the sensation of their child in her womb as much as she did.

"You know," Sara began, "I don't think my life could get any better than it is right now, Gil."

He nodded and Sara felt the scratch of his beard against her temple.

"I love you, Sara."

"I love you, too, Gil."

Dr. Vincent Lurie sat in the interrogation room across from her husband and Sara stood in the observation room, watching their exchange. She could see the anger on her husband's face, his urge to scream at the man in front of him. But he remained calm as he spoke.

"It's sad, isn't it Doc?" Grissom said coolly, "Guys like us? Couple of middle aged men who've allowed there work to consume their lives?"

Dr. Lurie turned around now to face Gil as he spoke.

"The only time we touch people is when we're wearing out latex gloves. We wake up one day and realize that for fifty years we haven't really lived at all. But then all of a sudden, we get a second chance," his gaze suddenly shifted from Lurie to the two-way mirror that he knew Sara was standing behind, "Someone young and beautiful comes along. Somebody... we could care about. She offers us a new life with her. But we have a big decision to make, right? Because we have to risk everything we've worked for in order to have her."

He paused for a moment and Sara felt tears burning in her eyes.

He continued, "I couldn't do it. But you did, you risked it all and she showed you a wonderful life, didn't she? But then she took it away... and gave it to someone else. And you were lost. So you took her life."

Gil stopped talking and Sara watched the look that Lurie gave him. The other man simply shook his head and left Gil alone in the interrogation room. Sara watched his eyes as they dropped to the floor and she knocked on the window, getting his attention. He smiled at her as he got up to leave the room, coming into the observation room to be with her.

"You lied in there," Sara whispered as he gathered her in his arms.

"Did I?" he asked softly.

Sara nodded against his shoulder, "You told him you didn't take the risk, that you couldn't... but you did. And now I'm standing here, wearing your ring and eight months pregnant with your child... Tell me something, Gil, was I worth it? Was I worth the risk?"

He pulled back enough to take in the sight of her, beautiful and humble and sweet. He smiled, pulling her back against him and pressing a gentle kiss into her temple, "Every bit of it, honey. You are my whole life, Sara, and I don't know what I would do without you."

**One month later.**

**February 2004**

Sara reached for the last file on her husband's desk before turning out the lights and closing the door.

Gil's first night off in months turned into one of the busiest nights the lab had had all year. Nick worked a trick-roll downtown, Catherine had a 419 in some rural unheard of town on the outskirts of Clark County and Warrick's B and E turned into a case of extortion. Which is exactly why Sara had been called in to begin with. Warrick wasn't a very computer savvy person and Sara was the resident tech expert when Archie wasn't available, which he wasn't due to a family emergency out of state.

Little did Warrick know that when he called Sara at home, she had been in the middle of a much needed bath. He had paid dearly for that.

"Warrick, God damn it, if you're gonna call me in in the middle of the night to work your case, at least have everything ready for me when I get here!" she had barked upon entering the A/V lab

He had to cover his laugh with a cough, muttering, "It's nice to see you, too, Sara."

At that, he earned a glare and a bruising punch in the arm, "Get the hell out of my way."

After a quick explanation of what exactly he was looking for, Warrick left Sara alone to do her work, something she preferred.

It had taken her only a few hours to find the files Warrick needed to break his case. She printed everything out for him, dropped it off at the front desk for it to be passed along, and made a B-line for Gil's office.

Sitting at his desk, Sara dialed their home phone number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello?" his voice was gruff with sleep.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry, were you sleeping?"

She heard him stiffle a yawn and she smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I fell asleep watching t/v, waiting for you to come home," he explained, "What time is it?"

"Almost seven," Sara said, relaxing in his chair, "Do you want me to stop by the diner and pick up something for breakfast?"

"No, just, come straight home, I'll make breakfast and I want to see you, come home."

Sara smiled, "I'm leaving right now."

"Oh, Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I left a casefile on my desk and I want to take a look at it, can you bring it home for me?" he asked.

Sara shook her head. It seemed that, lately, he'd been battling his forgetfulness. She laughed a little, "I'll get it. Be home soon."

"All right, I love you, Sara," Gil told her, stiffling another yawn.

Sara did laugh at him then, "I love you, too. Go back to bed you, big baby. I'll see you soon."

Walking across the parking garage to her car now, Sara stopped dead, feeling a violent contraction coming on. She dropped the files she was carrying and clutched her stomach. She wanted to scream, it hurt so much. She waited it out, her teeth grinding together and her knees locked to keep her from collapsing in pain.

When her contraction stopped, she bent and retrieved the dropped file and got into her car. Sara remained in the parking garage for a few more minutes, not sure that she was okay to drive just yet. Her purse and Gil's file sat on the passenger seat and she leaned over the console to retrieve her cell phone. Another contraction hit her, this one worse than the first and she did scream. The pain subsided slowly but not before Sara noticed the wetness of her jeans and seat.

"Oh God," she muttered, tears coming to her eyes. She dialed Gil's number first and he picked up on the second ring.

"If you tell me that Warrick is keeping you at the lab any longer, I'm going to-"

"Gil," Sara breathed through the beginning of another contraction, "Gil, the baby... the baby's coming, honey."

"Sara? Where are you?" he asked, suddenly panick stricken, "Did your water break? How far apart are the contractions?"

He heard her muffled scream and he knew that she was having another one. He glanced down at his watch and took time. The contraction lasted for a minute and forty three seconds.

"Sara, honey, I need you to tell me where you are," he urged quietly, already grabbing his shoes and car keys.

"The lab, I'm still in the parking garage," she told him breathlessly.

"Sara, was Warrick still in the lab when you left?"

"Yes," she barked, another contraction.

"Breath, sweetheart, you need to breath."

As he spoke to her gently he reached for his cellphone, dialing Warrick's number.

"Brown."

"Warrick, are you still at the lab?"

"Yeah, Griss, what's up?" he asked.

"I need you to drive Sara to the hospital, she's in labor, Warrick," Grissom informed him quickly, "She's sitting in her truck in the parking garage. She doesn't have much time."

"I'm on it, Griss."

And he was. He was halfway down the hall before he disconnected the call.

"Sara, baby, are you okay?"

Grissom switched phones and went back to his wife.

She growled a little into the phone, "I'm gonna kill you for doing this to me. Griss-"

She got quite for a minute and he knew she was biting back a cry of pain. He heard the car door open and Warrick's soothing voice and he knew that everything was going to be fine.

"Sar, honey, let me talk to Gris for a sec ok?"

Then he was on the phone with Warrick and getting in his car at the same time.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Grissom said quickly, "Don't let her wait for me, Warrick. I'll meet her in the delievery room, I want you to get her there as quick as you can."

"You got it, Boss. Desert Palms is only five minutes away, we'll be there in no time," Warrick assured him.

"Warrick?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful," Grissom ordered.

Fifteen minutes later, Grissom ran through the emergency room doors at Desert Palms. He reached the front desk a little out of breath.

"My wife," he said, inhaling sharply, "She was brought in a few minutes ago in labor."

"Maternity ward is on the fourth floor," the receptionist told him, "Elevators are over there."

She pointed somewhere to her left and Grissom nodded his thanks, moving in that direction.

When he reached the floor, he was met by a disheveled Warrick.

"Where is she?" he asked, still a little breathless.

Warrick smiled and clapped him on the back, "Delivery room, man, but she's only been in there for three minutes. Damn, that woman's got a set of lungs on her."

Grissom nodded, muttering, "You have no idea."

"Mr. Grissom?"

Both men turned as a nurse approached them, "If you'd like to come with me, Sara's almost ready to start pushing."

"All right," Grissom said, starting after the nurse, "Oh, Warrick?"

"Yeah?"

Grissom tossed him his car keys, "I parked in a firelane. Can you move the truck and bring in Sara's overnight bag, it's in the backseat."

Warrick nodded, "No problem. And I'll put in a call to the others."

"Thanks, Warrick, for everything."

Catherine, Nick, Greg and Brass met Warrick in the Maternity ward waiting room less than twenty minutes after he called them.

"Where is she?"

"Has she had the baby yet?"

"Boy or girl?"

The questions came all at once and Warrick shook his head, chuckling lightly.

"Guys, hold off," he told them, "Sara hasn't had the baby yet, as far as I know anyway cause I haven't seen Griss since he went into the delivery room with her, which was before I called any of you."

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief and Catherine took a seat next to Warrick.

"How long has she been in labor?" she asked.

Warrick shrugged, "Don't know for sure. I got her here about half an hour ago and she's been in the delivery room ever since. Griss showed up less than ten minutes after we did. That man is under some serious stress, I don't think I've ever seen him so disconsorted."

Catherine laughed along with Brass, who said, "Just wait til your first born, 'Rick, it's a crazy, wonderful experience."

They fell silent for a minute, none of them too sure what to say, all of them thinking about the miracle happening in the other room.

"What do you think they'll name her?"

"Samantha," Warrick told them without thinking, "If it's a girl, Samantha Grace."

They other occupants of the waiting room turned to him, "They were discussing it in the car on the way to a scene, combination of their first initials."

Greg sighed happily, "Man, they are gonna make great parents... Sara and Grissom havin' a baby, who'd of thought?"

"I'll take that as a compliment, Greg."

The five of them turned at the sound of Grissom's voice behind them. He was standing in the doorway grinning uncontrollably and Warrick raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

"It's a girl, and she's absolutely beautiful. Six pounds ten ounces. A little over fifteen inches."

"Damn, girl's gonna have her mom's height."

There were rounds of hugs and congratulations and Grissom took a seat beside Catherine, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"How's Sara?" Catherine asked.

Grissom smiled, obviusly proud of his wife in that moment for bringing their child into the world, "Perfect. Eladed. Exhausted. She's sound asleep."

"Did she take the epidural?" Nick asked.

Grissom laughed, "It's Sara, what'd you think?"

"Well, you never know, the girl's always been pretty stubborn."

They all laughed at that and Brass patted Gil on the back, "Well come on Dad, take us to the baby, we want to see her."

When they reached the nursery, Gil went into the room and picked up his daughter who was only minutes old. She already had almost a full head of brown hair, just like her mother, and her gorgeous blue eyes were wide open, staring up happily at her daddy. The smile on Gil's face radiated and the entire nightshift team smiled as well.

"She's beautiful," Catherine mouthed to him. He smiled more.

Grissom put the baby back into her cradle and moved to join his team in the hallway.

"Samantha?" Warrick asked, noticing the S. Grissom on the baby's crib.

Grissom nodded, "Yeah, Sara wouldn't let me use anything else. Even though I know she's gonna take her time getting used to the name."

"It's a beautiful name, Gil," Catherine told him.

"Thanks Catherine."

They all stood silently for a moment, watching as Samantha Grace Grissom bunched her tiny hands into fists then opened them again, seemingly amazed by this simple act. When Catherine noticed the tears welling in Grissom's eyes, she nudged him, smiling when he looked over at her.

"Why don't you go back and see your, wife, Gil," she told him, "We'll come back tomorrow to see everyone. I'm sure that the two of you are gonna want to spend some time alone with your little girl."

Grissom nodded, not really trusting his voice at the moment. Catherine turned, ushering the other two CSIs and their lab tech down the hall away from their boss. Only Brass stayed behind with his friend.

"She really is perfect, isn't she, Gil?"

Again he only nodded, staring intently at his little girl lying in her crib on the other side of the glass. He laid his palm flat against it, wanting to hold her in his arms again.

Brass patted him on the back again and turned to move down the hall.

Gil entered Sara's room silently, watching her chest rise and fall as she slept. He moved a chair beside her bed and sat down, feeling suddenly exhausted himself. He picked Sara's left hand up off of the bed and laced their fingers together, keeping his eyes on her wedding band as it rested against his own.

"I love you, honey," he whispered softly, lifting her fingers to his lips, "I'm so proud of you... and I can't wait for you to see our baby, she's so beautiful, Sara. She looks just like her mom."

He kissed her knuckles before resting their joined hands on the bed beside her. Gil tried to stiffle a yawn but failed miserably. There was no mistaking, he needed to sleep. He scooted his chair closer to her bed, not wanting to break the contact of their hands, and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"Gil. Gil?"

Sara's voice was tired and weak and her husband stirred slightly in his sleep. She rolled her eyes and pulled her fingers from his, sitting up a little, holding her arms out to the nurse craddling her daughter.

"Do you want me to wake him?" the nurse asked, placing Samantha in Sara's arms.

"No," Sara said, with a shake of her head, "No, let him sleep. We had a busy night."

At the nurses curious look, she added, "We work the nightshift at the Las Vegas crime lab."

The nurse nodded, "I know what that's like. My first year of internship, I worked the graveyard at County General, in Chicago."

"Yeah, I've pulled nightshift for the last four and a half years," Sara said, smiling down at her daughter, "Staying up with her all day is going to be a chore."

"Well, for now, she'll sleep almost all day every day," the nurse told her, laughing slightly, "And after that, she'll pretty much conform to your sleep schedule. I mean, it's really going to be a few months before she'll even sleep through the night, it could take up to a year."

Sara glanced up and groaned a little, still smiling. The nurse laughed and Sara's gaze focused back to the child in her arms. The nurse, noticing Sara's need to bond with her child, excused herself and slipped from the room. Sara didn't even notice her go.

"Hi, sweetheart," Sara whispered, "Hi."

The little girl in her arms, looked up at her, bright blue eyes squinting, trying to focus on her mother's face. Sara could only stare at her in wonder. This child, the beautiful little girl lying in her arms, was hers, the product of the love that she and her husband shared. They had made something special together and now Sara had the child she'd always dreamed of. She glanced over at her husband, still sleeping peacefully in his chair beside her.

"I love you," she said to him. She shifted on the bed so that Samantha's face could be easily seen by her father when he woke. She pointed at him and whispered to the baby, "That's your daddy, honey. And he wanted you so much."

Sara glanced down at her daughter and smiled. She couldn't help it. They had a child and nothing would ever be the same... it would only get better. She lifted her hand to Samantha's face and ran the tip of her finger down the child's nose, making her tiny blue eyes grow wide. Sara laughed a little and shifted the baby in her arms, bringing her against her chest. She watched her daughter yawn and her eyes close a little and Sara couldn't stifle her own yawn. She was still exhausted but she knew that, after seeing her daughter's face, she wouldn't be able to sleep with the child in her arms.

"Sara?" Gil's voice startled her and she whipped her head around to look at him, smiling brightly.

"Hi there," she said, her voice cracking a little, "Sleep well?"

They were both silent for a moment, staring contently at one another, not wanting to break the intimacy of their connection. It wasn't until Samantha yawned again and wiggled in her mother's arms that they both shifted their gaze to her.

"She's beautiful," Gil said, dropping his voice to a whisper. He moved from his chair to sit on the edge of Sara's bed. He reached out, running a hand over his daughter's head.

"She is," Sara agreed.

Again they were both silent and Sara reached out to take her husband's hand.

"I love you, Gil Grissom," she whispered, suddenly feeling tears in her eyes.

He smiled and wiped at her cheeks, "I love you, too, sweetheart."

**Disclaimer: **Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings: **G/S, what else is there?

**Rating: **PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary: **This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**Chapter Five- Butterflied**

**January 2004**

**Las Vegas, Neveda**

When the door to Debbie Marlin's house opened and Grissom stepped out, his eyes locked with Sara's. They didn't break contact for a long silent moment and when they did, it was because Sara forced her self to look away.

"I don't want anyone in that house but CSI," Grissom ordered, "Warrick, you got the car."

"Which one?" Warrick asked, turning to the two cars in the parking lot.

"Both of them," Grissom replied.

Brass shook his head, tossing a glance over his shoulder, "Take the Honda, the VW belongs to the vic's friend. She called it in."

"Too bad," Warrick muttered, picking up his kit, "This is a day she'll never forget."

And with that, he stalked off toward his car.

Grissom turned toward his wife, not able to make himself look her in the eye, "Sara, you take the perimeter."

"What?" she snapped, "You just did a one hour walk through, the perimeter cannot be that high of a priority, Griss."

The look on Sara's face sent a flush across Grissom's skin and Catherine shook her head, "Well, I'm going to take that as my cue to leave. Jim, care to join me on my walk to the front door?"

"Certainly."

The detective and the blond CSI turned and moved toward Debbie Marlin's front door, leaving Grissom to stand silently in front of his wife. Sara reached out and took his trembling hand, causing him to look up at her.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked gently, running her thumb along the top of his hand.

Grissom shrugged, "I don't want you in that house Sara."

"Why? Tell me what's wrong."

"Honey, please, promise me you won't go into that house... please."

The fear in his eyes sent a chill through Sara. She squeezed his hand gently, hoping to provide some sort of comfort. He smiled at her briefly, leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to her temple.

"You know I love you, right?"

Grissom nodded, "I love you, too, sweetheart-" He laid his hand gently on Sara's now eight month pregnant stomach "- Both of you."

Sara smiled, laying her hand over his. They stood silently like that for what seemed like forever, both reveling in the feel of their child growing in her womb. It wasn't until Catherine reappeared that they remembered where they were. Grissom withdrew himself from his wife and turned to his collegue.

"Come on, dad," Catherine said with a grin, "We've got a scene to process."

Grissom and Sara smiled at her as she moved toward the house. He glanced back at Sara for a moment, hesititating slightly.

"Go, Gil, Cath's right, we have work to do," Sara said lightly, "I'll be fine. And I promise, I'll stay out of the house, nothing but perimeter in Nevada's winter weather for pregnant little ol' me."

Grissom smirked at her playful expression.

"I could just have Jim run you back to lab..."

Sara shoved him a little and he smiled at her. They spent another moment staring at each other and Sara could sense Grissom's seriousness. She gave him another gentle push and pointed in the direction that Catherine had gone. He gave her a final worried look and went after Catherine.

Sara stood alone for a moment before Brass moved to her side. The two of them watched the door to Debbie Marlin's house close before Sara turned to Brass.

"What's in that house, Jim?" Sara asked quietly.

"I don't think that Gil wants you to know that, Sara," Jim told her, "And I've seen what's so scary behind those doors and I'm gonna have to agree with your husband on this one, kid, you shouldn't know what's in there."

With a quick pat on her back, Brass was gone, leaving Sara to worry about her husband.

Two hours after arriving at the scene, Sara leaned in over the backseat of Debbie Marlin's car, watching Warrick as he took photos.

"I have absolutely nothing," she huffed, "How 'bout you?"

Warrick pointed at the groceries in the backseat, "I got a lot. Check this out."

"Bananas, stuffed mushrooms."

Warrick nodded, "Chocolate syrup, six pack of soda, box of condoms."

"No surprises there," Sara smirked at him.

Warrick laughed a little, "Fresh bag of groceries in an unlocked car?"

"Maybe she was interrupted."

Grissom stared at the blue butterfly in his hands. It was beautiful, gorgeous even. It reminded him of Sara. He put the butterfly back on the dresser and picked up a photo there. It was a picture of Debbie, smiling brightly with her arms stretched out over her head. He stared at it, unable to get her image out of his mind. He sighed, shaking his head, and put the picture back down in it's place.

He glanced in the mirror above the dresser and imagined Debbie sitting on the bed behind him. As she turned around to look in her mirror, his image of her morphed into that of his wife and he couldn't help the shudder that passed through him.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes, feeling fatigued after only a couple of hours of work. This was the second day in a row he'd been in this house, only this time he was going on little or no sleep. Something was wrong, this case was gonna get to him and he wasn't prepared for the emotional trauma he would be forced to face.

The sound of his cell phone brought him back to reality and he reached for it.

"Grissom."

"Hey, it's me." Sara.

"Sara, honey, I'm in bad area, I'm gonna have to call you back."

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that I got a skin tag off the bathrub pipe drain," she told him quickly, probably trying to avoid being cut off.

"Skin tag? Uh, good, give it to Greg," he told her, not sure how much longer he could hold his emotions in check with her.

Sara hesitated and he could tell that she'd stopped walking, "Yeah, I did. Hey, do you want me to come over there and give you a hand?"

"No," he said immediately regretting how harsh the word sounded, "I-I'm fine. I'll-I'll, um, I'll talk to you at home, Sara."

With that, he hung up. He knew that Sara would, in some way, understand his hesitation, but he also knew that she wouldn't like it. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment and the tears in his eyes finally started to fall.

Sara took a seat across from Catherine and Warrick, not sure that she wanted to be a part of a group conversation with her husband over the phone. The intercom sat on the table between them as Catherine began.

"We know that, two days ago, Debbie Marlin is off work and at some time that morning, she buys groceries."

"At Pendale's," Warrick continued, "the closest store in West Charleston."

"Brass talked to one of the cashiers," Sara said, "He remembers seeing her just before his break at quarter after eleven."

"The store's about twenty minutes from her house," Catherine said, looking around the table, "Where's Nick?"

"American Academy of Forensics Science Convention," Sara told her, shrugging.

Grissom huffed and Sara heard him shift, "Guys, can we continue please?"

"She comes home from the store. She parks in the driveway . Begins to unload."

Warrick continues, "Takes out the perishibles first. Has to go back out and probably leaves the front door open."

"Explains why there were no signs of forced entry," Sara said with a small shrug.

Grissom was quiet for a minute but they could here him moving through the scene. A door opened and he walked more.

"Getting ready for her date?" Catherine asked.

More silence on the other end of the phone and Sara knew that Gil was getting caught up in the images in his head.

"Lighting candles. Mutli-tasking."

Warrick muttered, "She opens a bottle of wine. Two glasses."

Catherine shrugged, "Her girlfriend said she was locking down for an afternoon with Michael Clark."

"Nosy neighbor puts Clark's Mercedes in the driveway around noon," Sara said.

At that moment in the conversation, Greg entered the room with a printout in hand.

"Thought you guys should know," Greg panted, a little out of his breath from his jog to the break room, "The hair Sara got from the drain is a match to the bags of human remains found in the alley. Jacqui confirmed the prints, it's Michael Clark."

"Okay, most of our effort has been put into finding another victim?" Catherine thought outloud.

"Michael Clark," Grissom said, startling all of them, "But can we place him dead at the house?"

No one answered.

"Greg, what else can you tell us about the hair?" he asked.

"You mean hairs?" Greg replied, "There were two. The first was what was used to identify the vic. The second was ancillary. Arm or leg hair, maybe."

"Found it in the tub drain," Sara clarified.

A moment later, Grissom said, "The avatar of choice... for dismemberment."

Greg spoke up again, "Well Jacqui didn't find any prints on the blade or handle of the scaple you guys found at the scene. But the blood belongs to both victims."

"So, Michael Clark was dead in the tub," Catherine concluded, "We just don't know how he got there."

Grissom was kneeling on the floor in the hallway, testing the carpet for GSR, when Catherine entered the house. She stood silently watching him for a moment before she spoke.

"Gil, don't tell me you never went home."

He didn't look up at her as he continued to test the carpet.

"All right," he said, that being as much of an answer as he wanted to give, "I just started in here. Haven't been in any of the other rooms yet."

Catherine shook her head behind him, "Your wife is gonna start worrying about you. Come on, get up, you're into your thrid shift already, Gil. I mean, I'm all for the overtime, but this is getting out of hand. You have a pregnant wife at home, you can't do this to her, or to yourself."

Grissom thought about that for a moment before announcing, "My knees can't take this anymore."

Catherine smiled grimly, "Have you eaten anything?"

"What'd you bring?" Grissom asked, his stomach growling at the prospect of food.

Catherine shrugged, "I'll check the fridge."

As she moved into the kitchen, she heard Grissom call after her, "We have to replace that!"

Catherine eventually got him to move outside onto the patio, giving him a cup of yogurt and some peanut butter. She sat down across from him.

"Feel better?" she asked with a smirk.

He glanced at her over the tops of his glasses.

Catherine laughed at him a little, "Well, now that we've fed you, we should probably talk about a shower."

The idea of taking a shower at the scene threw him slightly off balance and his eyes widen with confusion.

"I meant at your place," Catherine told him, shaking her head, "You need to go home, Gil."

"As soon as we find some evidence," he told her, "I promise."

Catherine shook her head, "With fresh eyes you won't miss it. Besides, when was the last time you kissed Sar, Gil? When was the last time you told her you love her, huh? You can't start pulling away from her now, she's pregnant and hormonal and right now is the time she needs you the most."

Grissom placed the yogurt container on the table in front of his and removed his glasses. Catherine was right, he was exhausted and he missed Sara. But not as much as he would miss her if something like this ever happened to her. He need to find out what happened to Debbie Marlin. He needed the closure for himself.

"Just walk me through it will you?"

Catherine sighed, "All right. The bathroom is where things got started -- candles, oils, steam shower, cleaned up, oiled up, sexed up."

Grissom opened the jar of peanut butter, sticking his finger into it. He stuck the finger in his mouth and thought for a moment.

"Let's go back to the bedroom."

The entire team, minus Nick, worked Debbie Marlin's case. Warrick spent the majority of his time in the lab processing the evidence Gil and Catherine collected from the scene. Sara had been, in a way, kept off of the case. She'd been asked to do small, mudane things that any lab tech could easily do. Grissom's subtle way of keeping her back.

What had bothered Sara the most about their current case was her husband's interest in it. He had become emotionally involved and Sara could only remember one other case that had occupied him in that way. That case had involved an innocent baby who's 3 year old little brother had accidentally smothered him with an over mitt. Sara shuddered, remembering the way Gil had let out his frustrations with her the morning they'd solved the case... she had craddled him in her arms. But the case they were working was different, it involved a thirty-something year old woman, not a child. Gil didn't generally become emotionally involved in cases that didn't involve children.

When he asked Sara to take Debbie Marlin's toe prints, she knew that she had to find a reason for his emotional withdrawl from her. Three days, he had spent three continuous days at the Marlin house. He called her to tell her to rest, to make sure she was taking care of herself and the baby, but he hadn't been home in seventy two hours and counting.

Sara stood in the doorway of the locker room, watching Catherine as she changed her boots and pulled on her jacket.

"Hey, Cath, have you seen Grissom?" Sara asked softly.

Catherine looked up at her, smiling grimly, "He's still at the scene."

"Oh," Sara dropped her eyes to the file in her hands, "I eliminated both victims from the print you pulled off the bed."

"Well, we know that she was sleeping with more than one of her collegues," Catherine replied.

Sara nodded but didn't say more.

Catherine watched her for a reaction as she asked, "Have you seen Debbie?"

"Yeah," Sara said, shrugging. Catherine noted the distance in her voice.

"And?"

"Yeah, I compared her toe prints," Sara muttered.

"If I didn't know any better," Catherine said, dropping her voice to just above a whisper, "I'd think that was you lying in there on that table."

"I didn't really look at her face," Sara forced out, swallowing the lump in her throat. She didn't want to talk about this here, she didn't want to talk about it with Catherine. She just wanted to see her husband, to lie in his arms and reassure him that she was alive, that she wasn't Debbie Marlin, she was still here for him.

Catherine knew damn well that Sara was lying, she could tell by the look in her eyes. But she wouldn't push her, Gil would talk to her about it. She glanced at the younger woman, watching the shift in her posture, "Oh."

"Catherine, can you just let Grissom know I was looking for him?"

"Yeah."

Sara turned and left Catherine in the locker room to stare after her.

Sara sat quietly in the silence of her husband's office. She rested her hands on her stomach, feeling their unborn child kicking her softly. She smiled to herself.

The first trimester of her pregnancy had gone by quickly, which pleased Sara because her morning sickness was almost unbearable. By the end of her second trimester, they knew that their child was perfectly normal, as they had both expected, with ten fingers and ten toes. They hadn't been told the sex of the child because they had agreed that they wanted to be surprised. They had pictures of all of Sara's sonograms in a folder at home but Gil had locked them in the safe the moment they received them. Sara had, at one point, wished that she knew the baby's gender so that she could pick a name, but she had changed her mind for Gil. He was adament about not knowing the gender before the birth and Sara would've felt guilty if she knew and he didn't.

The last two months of her pregnancy had proven to be the most interesting. In her last week of her fifth month, Sara had flown to California alone. Gil had insisted that she go see her parents so that they could share in the joys of pregnancy with her before she was restricted from flying. He didn't go with her, which Sara had initially found unnerving, but once she reached her parents' Bed and Breakfast, her uneasy vanished and she was able to relax.

Little did she know that in the two weeks she was on vacation, Gil had gone out to Hendersen, bought them a four bedroom, two bathroom ranch home with a huge back yard. Nick and Warrick had been in on the whole thing, offering to paint the bedroom across the hall from the master bedroom, making a nursery for their baby. They had choosen to use neutral colors, yellow and green, and Warrick even painted a mural of the forest on one wall. The entire house was furnished in just two weeks and Catherine had taken the liberty of framing Sara's sonograms and some other photos that had been taken of her during the pregnancy.

_"Samantha."_

_They had been on the way to a scene, Warrick, Grissom and Sara. It had really come out of nowhere, they weren't even talking about the baby._

_"Excuse me?" Sara said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye._

_"I think that, if the baby is a girl, we should name her Samantha," he explained, smiling at her bemused expression, "Samantha Grace Sidle-Grissom."_

_Sara nodded, smiling, "Why Samantha?"_

_"You don't get it?" Gil asked._

_Sara shook her head, frowning momentarily._

_"I get it," Warrick spoke up, "A mix of your initials. S-G-S-G. Cute, Griss."_

_Grissom smiled, turning his attention to his wife again._

_"I like it," Sara said, "But, no hyphen. Just Samantha Grace Grissom. My initials aren't S-S anymore, honey, they're S-G. I don't need to be Sara Sidle anywhere but at work."_

_Grissom was quiet for a moment before nodding, "All right." _

Sara silently prayed that the child growing in her was a girl. She knew that her husband wanted a daughter more than anything and she wanted more than anything to make him happy.

When the phone on Gil's desk rang, Sara's thoughts were interrupted and she stood to answer it.

"Las Vegas Crime Lab, Sara Sidle speaking."

"Sara? Honey, didn't I call my office number?"

It was Gil. Sara smiled.

"You did, but I was resting on your sofa. I needed to feel something that was close to you, something you touched," Sara said softly. When he didn't reply, she continued on, "Are you still at the scene?"

"No, I'm in the car," he said, making Sara smile in relief, "I'll be there soon."

"That's good," Sara yawned.

"Sara, honey, are you all right?" he asked gently.

Sara nodded to herself, saying to him, "I'm fine, just a little tired. I needed to put my feet up for a while, that's all."

"Why don't you go home, sweetheart?"

"Not until-" she paused for another yawn "-You get here. I don't want to go home to an empty bed again, Gil. I need you."

He noticed the slight hitch in her breath when she said the last three words. Something was wrong. He knew he'd distanced himself lately but he couldn't help it. He needed to be strong for Sara. She was eight months pregnant and seeing the body of a woman who could've been her twin posed in such a horrible scene. Sara became emotionally attatched so easily, if the victim resembled her... he didn't want to think about what that would do to her.

"I'll be there soon, Sara, and we'll go home, I promise."

Sara smiled and yawned again, "Hurry, Gil, I'm exhausted."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

When they arrived at home, Gil could barely keep his eyes open long enough to carry himself into the bedroom. Sara followed him in, closing the door behind them and watching as he undressed himself and crawled under the covers. He watched her for a second, wondering if she planned on joining him.

"Sara?"

She smiled at him, "Sorry, I was just watching. I missed you, you know."

Sara started toward the bed, removing clothes as she went until she was lying down beside him under the covers. The darkness of their room was peaceful and Sara felt like she would fall asleep in seconds. But she didn't want to sleep. It had taken Gil three days to just come home and be with her, she needed him to talk to her now too.

"Grissom, tell me about Debbie Marlin," Sara whispered into the darkness of their bedroom, "Tell me about this case."

"Sara..."

"Please, Gil," she whispered again, "I need to know why you've been so... distant lately. We need to talk about this."

Gil shifted behind her and Sara panicked, thinking that she'd made him angry. She turned enough to watch him prop himself up against the headboard. Then he reached for her, pulling her onto his lap, locking his arms around her.

"Sara, Debbie Marlin's case... I mean, she reminded me-" he paused, unable to tell her what he was thinking.

"She had my face," Sara said, so quietly that Gil barely heard her. He shuddered at the image of Debbie Marlin's body as it came immediately to his mind.

"Yes she did," Gil pressed a gentle kiss into her hair. He felt close to tears. "Sara, I was terrified when I saw her lying there, blood pooled around her. I froze, I've never felt so out of place, honey. All I could think about was getting out of that house to find you waiting outside for me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

"Sara, I chose to go through it alone, of my own accord," he told her, "Because I needed to go through it alone. I needed to prove to myself that I could be strong for you, for us."

Sara rested her back against his chest, laying her head on his shoulder. She nodded at his confession, urging him to go on.

"You looked at her, honey, saw her face... I-I thought she was you," he muttered, his voice cracking a little, "I knew that, when I closed my eyes, I would see you lying there, hear your screams. God, honey, I was terrified."

Sara felt his tears hit her bare skin and she turned into him as much as she could, pressing gentle kisses along his jawline. He didn't kiss her back but he enveloped her in his arms. Sara was quiet and patient, letting him cry over the idea of losing her, she'd cried hundreds of times over him.

Finally, his sobs became silent and Sara tilted her head up to him.

"I'm here," she whispered, "Right here, Gil, and I'm not Debbie Marlin, I love you and I would never, ever hurt you."

"Maybe not intentionally but-"

"No, no buts, Gil," Sara said, "I won't ever leave you, Gil Grissom. Not unless you start hitting me, honey, which I know you never will."

"I couldn't," he breathed, "I could never hurt you, Sara."

Neither of them spoke for a minuted. Sara suddenly jumped a little and giggled.

"What's wrong?" Gil asked, concern flushing his face.

Sara didn't say anything but as she shifted his arms from behind her back, he knew what she was laughing about. She placed his hand on her lower stomach and he felt what she was feeling. The look on his face was one of pure love and Sara knew that he enjoyed the sensation of their child in her womb as much as she did.

"You know," Sara began, "I don't think my life could get any better than it is right now, Gil."

He nodded and Sara felt the scratch of his beard against her temple.

"I love you, Sara."

"I love you, too, Gil."

Dr. Vincent Lurie sat in the interrogation room across from her husband and Sara stood in the observation room, watching their exchange. She could see the anger on her husband's face, his urge to scream at the man in front of him. But he remained calm as he spoke.

"It's sad, isn't it Doc?" Grissom said coolly, "Guys like us? Couple of middle aged men who've allowed there work to consume their lives?"

Dr. Lurie turned around now to face Gil as he spoke.

"The only time we touch people is when we're wearing out latex gloves. We wake up one day and realize that for fifty years we haven't really lived at all. But then all of a sudden, we get a second chance," his gaze suddenly shifted from Lurie to the two-way mirror that he knew Sara was standing behind, "Someone young and beautiful comes along. Somebody... we could care about. She offers us a new life with her. But we have a big decision to make, right? Because we have to risk everything we've worked for in order to have her."

He paused for a moment and Sara felt tears burning in her eyes.

He continued, "I couldn't do it. But you did, you risked it all and she showed you a wonderful life, didn't she? But then she took it away... and gave it to someone else. And you were lost. So you took her life."

Gil stopped talking and Sara watched the look that Lurie gave him. The other man simply shook his head and left Gil alone in the interrogation room. Sara watched his eyes as they dropped to the floor and she knocked on the window, getting his attention. He smiled at her as he got up to leave the room, coming into the observation room to be with her.

"You lied in there," Sara whispered as he gathered her in his arms.

"Did I?" he asked softly.

Sara nodded against his shoulder, "You told him you didn't take the risk, that you couldn't... but you did. And now I'm standing here, wearing your ring and eight months pregnant with your child... Tell me something, Gil, was I worth it? Was I worth the risk?"

He pulled back enough to take in the sight of her, beautiful and humble and sweet. He smiled, pulling her back against him and pressing a gentle kiss into her temple, "Every bit of it, honey. You are my whole life, Sara, and I don't know what I would do without you."

**One month later.**

**February 2004**

Sara reached for the last file on her husband's desk before turning out the lights and closing the door.

Gil's first night off in months turned into one of the busiest nights the lab had had all year. Nick worked a trick-roll downtown, Catherine had a 419 in some rural unheard of town on the outskirts of Clark County and Warrick's B and E turned into a case of extortion. Which is exactly why Sara had been called in to begin with. Warrick wasn't a very computer savvy person and Sara was the resident tech expert when Archie wasn't available, which he wasn't due to a family emergency out of state.

Little did Warrick know that when he called Sara at home, she had been in the middle of a much needed bath. He had paid dearly for that.

"Warrick, God damn it, if you're gonna call me in in the middle of the night to work your case, at least have everything ready for me when I get here!" she had barked upon entering the A/V lab

He had to cover his laugh with a cough, muttering, "It's nice to see you, too, Sara."

At that, he earned a glare and a bruising punch in the arm, "Get the hell out of my way."

After a quick explanation of what exactly he was looking for, Warrick left Sara alone to do her work, something she preferred.

It had taken her only a few hours to find the files Warrick needed to break his case. She printed everything out for him, dropped it off at the front desk for it to be passed along, and made a B-line for Gil's office.

Sitting at his desk, Sara dialed their home phone number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello?" his voice was gruff with sleep.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry, were you sleeping?"

She heard him stiffle a yawn and she smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I fell asleep watching t/v, waiting for you to come home," he explained, "What time is it?"

"Almost seven," Sara said, relaxing in his chair, "Do you want me to stop by the diner and pick up something for breakfast?"

"No, just, come straight home, I'll make breakfast and I want to see you, come home."

Sara smiled, "I'm leaving right now."

"Oh, Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I left a casefile on my desk and I want to take a look at it, can you bring it home for me?" he asked.

Sara shook her head. It seemed that, lately, he'd been battling his forgetfulness. She laughed a little, "I'll get it. Be home soon."

"All right, I love you, Sara," Gil told her, stiffling another yawn.

Sara did laugh at him then, "I love you, too. Go back to bed you, big baby. I'll see you soon."

Walking across the parking garage to her car now, Sara stopped dead, feeling a violent contraction coming on. She dropped the files she was carrying and clutched her stomach. She wanted to scream, it hurt so much. She waited it out, her teeth grinding together and her knees locked to keep her from collapsing in pain.

When her contraction stopped, she bent and retrieved the dropped file and got into her car. Sara remained in the parking garage for a few more minutes, not sure that she was okay to drive just yet. Her purse and Gil's file sat on the passenger seat and she leaned over the console to retrieve her cell phone. Another contraction hit her, this one worse than the first and she did scream. The pain subsided slowly but not before Sara noticed the wetness of her jeans and seat.

"Oh God," she muttered, tears coming to her eyes. She dialed Gil's number first and he picked up on the second ring.

"If you tell me that Warrick is keeping you at the lab any longer, I'm going to-"

"Gil," Sara breathed through the beginning of another contraction, "Gil, the baby... the baby's coming, honey."

"Sara? Where are you?" he asked, suddenly panick stricken, "Did your water break? How far apart are the contractions?"

He heard her muffled scream and he knew that she was having another one. He glanced down at his watch and took time. The contraction lasted for a minute and forty three seconds.

"Sara, honey, I need you to tell me where you are," he urged quietly, already grabbing his shoes and car keys.

"The lab, I'm still in the parking garage," she told him breathlessly.

"Sara, was Warrick still in the lab when you left?"

"Yes," she barked, another contraction.

"Breath, sweetheart, you need to breath."

As he spoke to her gently he reached for his cellphone, dialing Warrick's number.

"Brown."

"Warrick, are you still at the lab?"

"Yeah, Griss, what's up?" he asked.

"I need you to drive Sara to the hospital, she's in labor, Warrick," Grissom informed him quickly, "She's sitting in her truck in the parking garage. She doesn't have much time."

"I'm on it, Griss."

And he was. He was halfway down the hall before he disconnected the call.

"Sara, baby, are you okay?"

Grissom switched phones and went back to his wife.

She growled a little into the phone, "I'm gonna kill you for doing this to me. Griss-"

She got quite for a minute and he knew she was biting back a cry of pain. He heard the car door open and Warrick's soothing voice and he knew that everything was going to be fine.

"Sar, honey, let me talk to Gris for a sec ok?"

Then he was on the phone with Warrick and getting in his car at the same time.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Grissom said quickly, "Don't let her wait for me, Warrick. I'll meet her in the delievery room, I want you to get her there as quick as you can."

"You got it, Boss. Desert Palms is only five minutes away, we'll be there in no time," Warrick assured him.

"Warrick?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful," Grissom ordered.

Fifteen minutes later, Grissom ran through the emergency room doors at Desert Palms. He reached the front desk a little out of breath.

"My wife," he said, inhaling sharply, "She was brought in a few minutes ago in labor."

"Maternity ward is on the fourth floor," the receptionist told him, "Elevators are over there."

She pointed somewhere to her left and Grissom nodded his thanks, moving in that direction.

When he reached the floor, he was met by a disheveled Warrick.

"Where is she?" he asked, still a little breathless.

Warrick smiled and clapped him on the back, "Delivery room, man, but she's only been in there for three minutes. Damn, that woman's got a set of lungs on her."

Grissom nodded, muttering, "You have no idea."

"Mr. Grissom?"

Both men turned as a nurse approached them, "If you'd like to come with me, Sara's almost ready to start pushing."

"All right," Grissom said, starting after the nurse, "Oh, Warrick?"

"Yeah?"

Grissom tossed him his car keys, "I parked in a firelane. Can you move the truck and bring in Sara's overnight bag, it's in the backseat."

Warrick nodded, "No problem. And I'll put in a call to the others."

"Thanks, Warrick, for everything."

Catherine, Nick, Greg and Brass met Warrick in the Maternity ward waiting room less than twenty minutes after he called them.

"Where is she?"

"Has she had the baby yet?"

"Boy or girl?"

The questions came all at once and Warrick shook his head, chuckling lightly.

"Guys, hold off," he told them, "Sara hasn't had the baby yet, as far as I know anyway cause I haven't seen Griss since he went into the delivery room with her, which was before I called any of you."

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief and Catherine took a seat next to Warrick.

"How long has she been in labor?" she asked.

Warrick shrugged, "Don't know for sure. I got her here about half an hour ago and she's been in the delivery room ever since. Griss showed up less than ten minutes after we did. That man is under some serious stress, I don't think I've ever seen him so disconsorted."

Catherine laughed along with Brass, who said, "Just wait til your first born, 'Rick, it's a crazy, wonderful experience."

They fell silent for a minute, none of them too sure what to say, all of them thinking about the miracle happening in the other room.

"What do you think they'll name her?"

"Samantha," Warrick told them without thinking, "If it's a girl, Samantha Grace."

They other occupants of the waiting room turned to him, "They were discussing it in the car on the way to a scene, combination of their first initials."

Greg sighed happily, "Man, they are gonna make great parents... Sara and Grissom havin' a baby, who'd of thought?"

"I'll take that as a compliment, Greg."

The five of them turned at the sound of Grissom's voice behind them. He was standing in the doorway grinning uncontrollably and Warrick raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

"It's a girl, and she's absolutely beautiful. Six pounds ten ounces. A little over fifteen inches."

"Damn, girl's gonna have her mom's height."

There were rounds of hugs and congratulations and Grissom took a seat beside Catherine, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"How's Sara?" Catherine asked.

Grissom smiled, obviusly proud of his wife in that moment for bringing their child into the world, "Perfect. Eladed. Exhausted. She's sound asleep."

"Did she take the epidural?" Nick asked.

Grissom laughed, "It's Sara, what'd you think?"

"Well, you never know, the girl's always been pretty stubborn."

They all laughed at that and Brass patted Gil on the back, "Well come on Dad, take us to the baby, we want to see her."

When they reached the nursery, Gil went into the room and picked up his daughter who was only minutes old. She already had almost a full head of brown hair, just like her mother, and her gorgeous blue eyes were wide open, staring up happily at her daddy. The smile on Gil's face radiated and the entire nightshift team smiled as well.

"She's beautiful," Catherine mouthed to him. He smiled more.

Grissom put the baby back into her cradle and moved to join his team in the hallway.

"Samantha?" Warrick asked, noticing the S. Grissom on the baby's crib.

Grissom nodded, "Yeah, Sara wouldn't let me use anything else. Even though I know she's gonna take her time getting used to the name."

"It's a beautiful name, Gil," Catherine told him.

"Thanks Catherine."

They all stood silently for a moment, watching as Samantha Grace Grissom bunched her tiny hands into fists then opened them again, seemingly amazed by this simple act. When Catherine noticed the tears welling in Grissom's eyes, she nudged him, smiling when he looked over at her.

"Why don't you go back and see your, wife, Gil," she told him, "We'll come back tomorrow to see everyone. I'm sure that the two of you are gonna want to spend some time alone with your little girl."

Grissom nodded, not really trusting his voice at the moment. Catherine turned, ushering the other two CSIs and their lab tech down the hall away from their boss. Only Brass stayed behind with his friend.

"She really is perfect, isn't she, Gil?"

Again he only nodded, staring intently at his little girl lying in her crib on the other side of the glass. He laid his palm flat against it, wanting to hold her in his arms again.

Brass patted him on the back again and turned to move down the hall.

Gil entered Sara's room silently, watching her chest rise and fall as she slept. He moved a chair beside her bed and sat down, feeling suddenly exhausted himself. He picked Sara's left hand up off of the bed and laced their fingers together, keeping his eyes on her wedding band as it rested against his own.

"I love you, honey," he whispered softly, lifting her fingers to his lips, "I'm so proud of you... and I can't wait for you to see our baby, she's so beautiful, Sara. She looks just like her mom."

He kissed her knuckles before resting their joined hands on the bed beside her. Gil tried to stiffle a yawn but failed miserably. There was no mistaking, he needed to sleep. He scooted his chair closer to her bed, not wanting to break the contact of their hands, and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"Gil. Gil?"

Sara's voice was tired and weak and her husband stirred slightly in his sleep. She rolled her eyes and pulled her fingers from his, sitting up a little, holding her arms out to the nurse craddling her daughter.

"Do you want me to wake him?" the nurse asked, placing Samantha in Sara's arms.

"No," Sara said, with a shake of her head, "No, let him sleep. We had a busy night."

At the nurses curious look, she added, "We work the nightshift at the Las Vegas crime lab."

The nurse nodded, "I know what that's like. My first year of internship, I worked the graveyard at County General, in Chicago."

"Yeah, I've pulled nightshift for the last four and a half years," Sara said, smiling down at her daughter, "Staying up with her all day is going to be a chore."

"Well, for now, she'll sleep almost all day every day," the nurse told her, laughing slightly, "And after that, she'll pretty much conform to your sleep schedule. I mean, it's really going to be a few months before she'll even sleep through the night, it could take up to a year."

Sara glanced up and groaned a little, still smiling. The nurse laughed and Sara's gaze focused back to the child in her arms. The nurse, noticing Sara's need to bond with her child, excused herself and slipped from the room. Sara didn't even notice her go.

"Hi, sweetheart," Sara whispered, "Hi."

The little girl in her arms, looked up at her, bright blue eyes squinting, trying to focus on her mother's face. Sara could only stare at her in wonder. This child, the beautiful little girl lying in her arms, was hers, the product of the love that she and her husband shared. They had made something special together and now Sara had the child she'd always dreamed of. She glanced over at her husband, still sleeping peacefully in his chair beside her.

"I love you," she said to him. She shifted on the bed so that Samantha's face could be easily seen by her father when he woke. She pointed at him and whispered to the baby, "That's your daddy, honey. And he wanted you so much."

Sara glanced down at her daughter and smiled. She couldn't help it. They had a child and nothing would ever be the same... it would only get better. She lifted her hand to Samantha's face and ran the tip of her finger down the child's nose, making her tiny blue eyes grow wide. Sara laughed a little and shifted the baby in her arms, bringing her against her chest. She watched her daughter yawn and her eyes close a little and Sara couldn't stifle her own yawn. She was still exhausted but she knew that, after seeing her daughter's face, she wouldn't be able to sleep with the child in her arms.

"Sara?" Gil's voice startled her and she whipped her head around to look at him, smiling brightly.

"Hi there," she said, her voice cracking a little, "Sleep well?"

They were both silent for a moment, staring contently at one another, not wanting to break the intimacy of their connection. It wasn't until Samantha yawned again and wiggled in her mother's arms that they both shifted their gaze to her.

"She's beautiful," Gil said, dropping his voice to a whisper. He moved from his chair to sit on the edge of Sara's bed. He reached out, running a hand over his daughter's head.

"She is," Sara agreed.

Again they were both silent and Sara reached out to take her husband's hand.

"I love you, Gil Grissom," she whispered, suddenly feeling tears in her eyes.

He smiled and wiped at her cheeks, "I love you, too, sweetheart."


	6. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **Again, I am but a poor college student who owns nothing more than what fits in my dorm. CBS and affiliates, please don't sue me.

**Pairings: **G/S, what else is there?

**Rating: **PG- 13, possibly R

**Summary: **This is my take on the way some of our favorite GSR moments should have gone, starting from the beginning.

**Epilogue**

**Four years later.**

**February 2008**

The doorbell rang for the fourth time and Gil wiped his hands on his pants. He leaned into the hallway leading toward the location of his wife and daughter.

"Sara?"

"Honey, can you get that? Lil' Bit just dumped an entire cup of her bath water on me!"

Gil stood there for a moment, shaking his head silently. Samantha peaked around the door frame and smiled at her dad, her brown hair in wet curls and her blue eyes very wide. He smiled, stepping fully into the hall and holding his arms out to her. She grinned, her tiny smile reminiscent of her mother's, and ran to him.

The doorbell rang again as Samantha crashed into him, her soft pink towel rubbing his forearms as he scooped her up. He carried her toward the door.

"Daddy?" Samantha whispered.

"What Lil' Bit?" Gil asked, smiling as she leaned forward and touched her little nose to his.

"Is Mommy mad?" she whispered.

Gil shook his head, "No baby. She's not mad, just a little wet."

Samantha giggled but turned at the sound of the door opening behind her, curious to see who their visitor was.

"Uncle Warwick!" she screeched, wriggling out of her father's grasp and into Warrick's outstretched arms. Warrick caught her as she jumped from Grissom's arms.

"Hey there birthday girl!"

Samantha giggled and pointed at herself, "It's my birfday Uncle Warwick."

Warrick smiled, hugging the little girl in his arms and entering into Grissom's house.

"Samantha Grace Grissom!" Sara's voice called from down the hall. Both Warrick and Samantha looked at Grissom for an explanation for Sara's obvious frustration.

"Lil' Bit here dumped soapy bath water all over her," Grissom told Warrick, then looking at his daughter he added, "Down, Samantha. Go find Mommy and get dressed."

The little girl leaned over, kissed her Uncle Warrick and reached for her Daddy, who took her in his arms and headed down the hallway.

"Have a seat, Warrick," Grissom called over his shoulder. The doorbell rang again, "And could you get that for me."

Warrick shook his head, moving to the front door of the Grissom household and opening it to a somewhat confused pair of CSIs.

"Are we at the wrong house?" Greg asked, glancing from Nick to Warrick.

Nick smacked Greg on the back of the head and pushed him into the house, following him into the living room as Warrick closed the door behind them.

"Where are Griss and Sara?" Nick asked.

"And where's the birthday girl?" Greg asked.

"They had a bathing incident," Warrick told him.

The three of them stood silent for a second before Greg asked, "Did anyone else go to a really screwed up place just then?"

Nick and Warrick nodded, both of them going a little pink at the thoughts running around in their heads. The three CSIs moved to the couch just as the doorbell rang again.

"Warrick?"

"I got it boss," he said, moving back to the front door to be greeted by Catherine and Lindsey.

"Stuck being the doorman?" Catherine asked, giving him a peck on the cheek. He shrugged and kissed her back, earning a disgusted eye roll from Lindsey.

"Griss and Sara are takin' care of their kid," Warrick explained, "But do come in, ma'am."

Catherine laughed as she and Lindsey made their way into the house. Warrick closed the door waiting a minute to make sure that the doorbell wasn't ringing again before moving into the living room with the rest of the night shift. Just as he sat on the couch beside Nick, the doorbell rang again and he sighed loudly.

"I'll get it, Warrick," Grissom said from somewhere behind him.

The team turned to watch their boss emerge from the hallway, sans Samantha this time, and head for his front door.

When he returned, the last of their guests had arrived. Brass, toting a very large gift for the birthday girl, smiled at them as he came into the living room.

"Trying to show us up, Jim?" Catherine asked, eyeing his gift thoughtfully.

Brass shrugged, "What can I say? I love my goddaughter."

Catherine and Warrick rolled their eyes in unison which earned a groan from the rest of the guests in Grissom's living room. They looked at each other, Warrick shrugging and Catherine sighing loudly.

"Oh, get over it, boys and girl-" she threw a pointed glare at her daughter "-You all know what's going on, so can we stop rubbing it in every chance we get?"

That earned a huff from the woman of the house who had walked into the room behind her colleagues, "Right, Cath, cause the 'knowing' really stopped you from rubbing it in with me and Gil."

Catherine blushed and dropped her eyes, knowing that Sara had a point.

"Aunt Catrin!" Samantha's voice carried down the hall and Sara turned around to stop the oncoming intrusion of her child.

"Samantha Grace, if I come in there and you're not dressed, you are gonna be in big trouble, little girl," she called back.

There were no other signs that the child was coming down the hall and Sara turned to her husband, "She insisted on dressing herself. God, that child is stubborn."

Gil eyed her for a moment, casting a glance in Greg's direction as he heard him trying to stifle a laugh. He turned back to his wife, smiling at her.

"She remind you of anyone?"

Sara swiped at him but missed purposely, "You know, Gil Grissom, if we didn't have company right now, you'd be regretting that little comment."

At that moment, Samantha Grace, in her brand new pink dress that her mother insisted she did not wear, graced the guests of her birthday party with her presence. She bypassed her parents, knowing very well that her Sara would snatch her up and drag her back into the bedroom to change, and hopped onto Nick's lap.

"It's my birfday Uncle Nick," she told him, smiling brightly up at her. Nick smiled back.

"Really? I thought today was my birthday."

Samantha shook her head, "Nope. Daddy said today is my birfday. Mommy told me, too."

She looked up at her parents, wide-eyed. They both nodded at her.

Nick nodded slowly, rubbing his chin, "All right, Sam, if today is your birthday, than those presents on the kitchen table must be for you."

Samantha looked at her father again, a question on her face.

"Come on, Lil' Bit, let's go get the cake," he said to her.

Samantha climbed down from Nick's lap and ran to her father as he bent down for her, scooping her up again and taking her into the kitchen.

"Daddy, can I open presents after cake?" she asked as they moved into the other room.

"Of course you can Lil' Bit," he told her.

Sara shook her head, smiling as she watched her husband and daughter move toward their kitchen. She motioned for the others to follow her into the dining room and Catherine stepped up beside her.

"She's got him wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Catherine whispered to her.

Sara smiled, nodding, "Isn't it obvious?"

They exchanged knowing smiles as the group took their seats around the large dining room table. Samantha burst into the dining room through the swinging door and held her arms up to her mother, who lifted her into her booster chair at the head of the table.

Moments later, Gil entered the room carrying a large sheet cake with four burning candles. The look on his daughter's face could have made Gil's heart stop. She was beautiful and happy with her mother standing behind her at the table, recording every moment of the excitement. He placed the cake on the table in front of Samantha and moved to stand beside Sara, placing his hand on the small of her back. She glanced at him, smiling, as the group began to sing "Happy Birthday" to their little girl who was sitting perfectly still in her chair. When they reached the end of the song, Gil leaned over and whispered to Samantha, "Make a wish, baby."

She waited for a moment, putting a finger over her lips like she was thinking, before saying, "I wish I had a little brother to play with."

Gil and Sara looked at each other, both of them becoming slightly flushed at the thought of having another child. Sara smiled first, leaning in to kiss her husband on the cheek, before turning her attention back to Samantha. The birthday girl blew out her candles and the real party began.

Three hours later, after their guests had cleared out and their daughter had been put to bed, Gil and Sara sat curled up together on their couch, each of them reading a different issue of the same Forensics' journal. Sara yawned steadily, dropping her magazine onto the couch cushion beside her, moving closer to her husband's side.

"Gil?"

He lowered his magazine and turned his head to brush a kiss against Sara's cheek, "Hmm?"

"I have to tell you something," she said, so softly that it made his blood run cold.

Gil sat up a little straighter and Sara realized that she had startled him. She also sat up, facing him now. She shook her head, taking his hand in hers.

"No," she said gently, "Don't think that. Everything is fine."

The look in his eyes told her that he wasn't sure that he believed her and Sara kissed him soundly.

"Gil, I was going to wait to tell you this, but," she leaned closer to whisper in his ear, "Samantha's wish came true. We're having a baby."


End file.
